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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27766948">Cabur</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DauntingSagas/pseuds/DauntingSagas'>DauntingSagas</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Aliit ori'shya tal'din [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Accidental Baby Acquisition, Blood and Injury, But they have to become friends first, Canon-Typical Violence, Death Threats, Eventual Smut, F/M, Lots of Cursing, Mentions of Children Dying, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Threats of Violence, Touch-Starved Din Djarin, Touch-Starved Original Female Character, but nameless kids, no beta we die like men</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:47:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>91,862</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27766948</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DauntingSagas/pseuds/DauntingSagas</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Clan. A family. An unfamiliar concept to everyone sitting in the cockpit of the Razor Crest as it left Nevarro’s atmo. One had theirs ripped away from them when they were a child, one had no memory of theirs, and there was no way of knowing what the Child remembered of his own family.<br/>But for Din Djarin and Aili Verdella, a family was a foreign concept and yet here they were, a sort of family but a very reluctant, dysfunctional one. On the run from the Guild and whoever was after the Child. </p><p>What had they gotten themselves into?</p><p>Sequel now up</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Din Djarin &amp; Grogu | Baby Yoda, Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s), Grogu | Baby Yoda &amp; Original Female Character(s), The Mandalorian/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Aliit ori'shya tal'din [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2065905</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>305</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>189</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Mandalorian sat silently as he waited for Greef Karga to pull out the pucks they both knew he had. The silence surrounding them was somehow deafening even with the rest of the cantina bustling. Karga let out an annoyed huff as he placed several pucks onto the table. “I don’t have anything interesting, just bail jumpers and a...trafficker.” </p><p>“I’ll take them all.” The Mandalorian didn’t care to question what made Karga worried about giving him a puck for a trafficker. A bounty was a bounty. He reached forward to pull the pucks towards him when a hand slammed down onto one of the pucks before the Mandalorian could even touch it. His hand immediately went to his blaster, ready to shoot the person that was trying to take his bounties. </p><p>“Traffickers and slavers are mine, Karga and you know that.” A feminine voice spoke from beside the Mandalorian causing him to tense up. He didn’t know how someone had managed to sneak up on him and he didn’t like it. Karga winced, his gaze on the table, before he looked back up. He hadn’t heard the cantina door open or else he would have made sure it wasn’t her that walked in. </p><p>“Aili! I didn’t think you would be back so soon otherwise I would have saved it for you,” Karga plastered a smile on his face as he looked up at Aili. Both the Mandalorian and Aili could see how forced it was and both were annoyed by it. The only difference was that only one of them was visibly showing it.<br/>
“Cut the shit, Karga. You just didn’t want to say no to your golden boy here,” Aili all but growled out as she nodded her head in the Mandalorian’s direction. Her hand involuntarily gripped the puck tighter in her rising anger.</p><p>“The puck is mine. Move your hand." The Mandalorian took the chance to glance over the person trying to take one of his pucks. She wasn't someone who looked like they would be a bounty hunter. She looked too...he hated to use the word delicate but he would be surprised if she even had any scars to prove her abilities. She was a lot shorter than him, standing almost as tall as him as he sat. His eyes narrowed when he saw the blood red cuirass underneath her cloak. That looked like...</p><p>Aili glared down at the Mandalorian, “We can take this outside and fight for it but just so you know, I’ll kick your ass and the puck will be mine anyway. So save both of us the time and trouble.”</p><p>He let out a scoff that was mostly hidden by his voice modulator. At the sound Aili raised an eyebrow but made no move towards her own blaster, a mistake that he would take advantage of if they did end up fighting over the puck. </p><p>“Mando, I would take her offer to walk away. She took down three of my guys for looking at her the wrong way,” Karga said. He really didn’t want to clean up any more messes and he didn’t want to run the risk of losing either of his best hunters. The others in the Guild couldn’t catch nearly as many bounties as the two before him. </p><p>“I took them down for what they were saying about their female bounties." Aili didn't elaborate nor would she have if either of them asked. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what she meant.  The Mandalorian couldn’t find it in himself to fault her for that, he probably would have done the same thing if he had been there. Taking advantage of the fact that the Mandalorian was distracted, Aili picked up the puck and turned to leave the cantina. "I'll be back in a few days, try not to give away any more of my pucks."</p><p>Aili left the cantina before either Karga or the Mandalorian could say anything to her. She still had to gather supplies before she left the planet and another errand that needed to be done as well. Haggling with the different vendors took less time than usual but Aili wasn’t about to complain. The less time she wasted doing that, the sooner she could get out of there. </p><p>She was getting ready to walk to her next stop when she saw the Mandalorian leave the cantina. With a muttered curse she turned on her heel to speak to a random vendor and subtly watched as he walked in the direction she had been planning to go. He paused by a curtain, glancing around the market to see if anyone was watching. His gaze seemed to linger on Aili longer than it did on anyone else and she tried to appear nonchalant as she bartered with the vendor. </p><p>It looked like she was going to have to wait for him to leave now. She paid for whatever she had grabbed and made her way to her ship. He would probably be down there for a few hours which gave her plenty of time to put away her supplies and make it to where she usually hid before he came out. </p><p>Aili stood in the shadows waiting for the Mandalorian to come out of the entrance. She was almost glad that her training had made the hours pass by easily. Almost. She still hated the training she had gone through with a burning passion. A quiet shuffle brought her out of her memories and she pressed herself further into the wall behind her, just in case. The Mandalorian walked past her hiding spot without stopping but she still waited a few minutes before she moved. </p><p>She didn’t go in the same way he had, that entrance always had a guard stationed at the bottom of the stairs. She went around the building, glancing around to make sure no one had followed her before she jumped down the storm drain. Her feet hit the ground as soft as they could but Aili still paused for a second to see if anyone had heard her. She continued on her way quickly.</p><p>The path she followed was familiar to her now and she knew when to hide behind something to stay undetected. There weren’t that many Mandalorians on patrol at the moment but that didn’t mean she let her guard down. She had been told that she didn’t need to sneak around but it was a habit now and it was better this way. So long as there was an unknown price on her head, she wouldn’t let anyone know about the location of the Mandalorian covert. She could hear the sounds of fighting and knew the children were probably getting trained. The lack of guards on patrol made more sense now. Training took precedence over patrol every time. </p><p>If the Armorer was surprised to see her, she didn’t make it obvious. She simply tilted her head in greeting and waited for Aili to take her usual seat before taking her own seat. “I did not expect to see you so soon, your <i>ade<i> are still in training.”</i></i></p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p><p>Aili held back a sigh knowing that it was useless to argue with the Armorer’s choice of words. She took out her extra pouch of credits, sliding it towards the other woman. The Armorer made no move to take the bag, waiting for Aili to speak.</p><p>“I had a few easy bounties, paid more than enough to have extra for the other foundlings.” Aili knew the Armorer would use most of the credits for her supposed ade but she had made sure to add more credits than usual. She didn’t know exactly how many foundlings were in the covert but she knew it couldn’t be easy to keep them all fed with only a single bounty hunter in their tribe. They were part of the same Guild and she knew that pickings were getting slimmer with every solar cycle. She stayed seated for a few more moments before standing, giving the Armorer one more nod and then she turned on her heel to go. </p><p>She probably should have been paying attention to the quiet that had taken over the covert. Training was finished and the foundlings would be playing around now. But she had let her guard down knowing that she was safe down in the sewers.</p><p>
  <i>“Ori’vod!”<i> Several familiar voices called out. Aili spun around just in time to catch Jaesa who jumped into her arms. Shaeli was the next to wrap her arms around her waist followed by Sula. Madsin was kind enough to settle for standing in front of them, a small smile on her face. Aili let Jaesa stay in her arms for a few more seconds before placing her back onto the ground. </i></i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i></i>
  </i>
</p><p>“We should head to our room before the others come out,” Madsin said knowing that Aili didn’t want others to know that someone not part of their covert knew their location. Some of them were very traditional which could lead to trouble. The five of them hurried to the room that the four girls shared. Shaeli and Jaesa jumped onto their bed, large smiles on their faces as they bounced in excitement. It had been a while since Aili had been able to come down to visit them, bounties keeping her off planet more often. Once the curtain that acted as their door was tied shut Aili took the chance to look the four girls over. </p><p>Madsin had turned 16 a few months ago and she already towered over all of them at 5’8” but she usually didn’t mention it. At some point after Aili’s last visit she had cut her hair short, the dark brown waves brushing against the top of her shoulders. Sula had shot up too, almost as tall as AIli now but still a few inches shorter. She was still letting her blonde hair grow, it was now past her shoulders but someone had given her bangs that she had pinned to the side. Shaeli’s dark, almost black, hair was the longest and pulled into two long braids that hung over her shoulders. Jaesa’s light brown hair was the curliest and always hard to tame but someone, probably Sula, had pinned it out of her face.</p><p>“Do you wanna see what we practiced today?” Shaeli asked, bouncing even more in excitement. Her and Jaesa had finally been allowed to join the training. Before they had only been given verbal instructions even though they had already learned some things in their old home. </p><p>“Be careful,” Aili said before gesturing for the two youngest to go ahead and show her what they had learned that day. Madsin and Sula climbed onto their beds so they were out of the way. Aili watched as Shaeli and Jaesa showed off the moves they had learned in training that day, a small smile on her face. There were matching smiles on Madsin and Sula’s faces. They were the only ones who really remembered the training that they had gone through. They were all glad that the youngest ones were getting the chance to learn from people that wouldn’t purposely hurt them in the guise of teaching them. </p><p>Aili spent more time with them than she meant to but she kept making excuses to herself to extend her visit. There were too many Mandalorians wandering around now, she felt guilty for not spending more time with them, she didn’t want to run into their bounty hunter. If she were being honest with herself they were all lies, she never really wanted to leave them behind but she couldn’t take them with her and she couldn’t become a Mandalorian. Eventually though she had to leave, she had a bounty to catch and they had to sleep. </p><p>She tucked Shaeli and Jaesa into the bed they shared while Madsin and Sula laid down on their own beds. Thankfully the training earlier and their little demonstration had tired the youngest out and they fell asleep without fighting it. Aili let a small smile cross her face again as she brushed the curls away from Jaesa’s face. She sat on the edge of the bed for a few more seconds before letting out a sigh and getting up. Sula had already fallen asleep, or she was pretending so she didn’t have to say goodbye, but Madsin was sitting up against the wall. </p><p>“You know the Armorer would let you stay if you asked,” Madsin said, looking at Aili with a single eyebrow raised. She understood why her sister wouldn’t swear the Creed but she didn’t understand why she couldn’t stay with them anyway. Sure there were some overly traditional members but the Armorer was open-minded. “No one would bother you if they knew you had her permission.”</p><p>Aili knew that. Had known that for a few years now and yet she couldn’t do it. She didn’t know if it was the freedom of being on her own ship or not wanting to run the risk of becoming more attached. Or maybe she had lost the ability to settle down somewhere between shooting a blaster for the first time and her first time killing someone. With one last tight smile to Madsin, Aili left their room with a heavy feeling in her chest.</p><p>The Armorer was still at her forge when Aili started to creep past and she turned from the flame to look at her. For a moment Aili thought the woman was going to say something to her but she just watched as she walked away. She could still feel the other woman’s gaze on her even when she pulled herself out of the storm drain. </p><p>Night had fallen which made it easy for her to leave the alley without worrying about someone seeing her and she hurried to where her ship was waiting for her. Leaving Nevarro kept getting harder but she had a job to do and would keep doing it until they no longer needed her. With one last long sigh Aili got into her ship and prepared to hunt her quarry.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Aili goes on the hunt for some of the scum of the universe while Mando is off getting his butt handed to him by the Mudhorn</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>None of our favorite Mandalorian in this chapter, I wanted everyone to get to know Aili a little more before sticking her on the Razor Crest.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Oshriya was a tiny planet with even smaller settlements. Aili wasn’t sure she had ever seen a more empty planet and that was saying something. There was one semi-populated city and that had been the first place she went. The city of Oshriya, obviously named for the planet or was it the other way around, was quaint. The people that lived stared at Aili with suspicion and she had seen several men and women crying outside their homes. They had to have just been hit by slavers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me, can you point me to whoever’s in charge?” Aili asked the woman running what looked like a fruit stand. She didn’t know the names of any of the items on display but she grabbed one and placed more than enough credits. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mayor Nez’s house is over there,” the woman pointed to one of the homes that Aili had seen on her way in. One of the homes with a pair of crying parents. “He’ll know more, this is his fault.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is it his fault?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He didn’t pay in time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili chose not to reply and thanked the woman for her help and the fruit. She made her way over to the Mayor’s home, catching their attention quickly and putting them on edge when they caught sight of her blasters. She tried to make herself look less threatening but she could tell it wasn’t really working. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have nothing to spare.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I hear you have information, we can help each other.” Aili said, placing her hand behind her back and clearly away from her weapons. “I hear you have a slaver problem and I have a bounty to catch, the two overlap.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve come to get our children back?” The mayor’s wife asked, looking up at Aili with a dreadful amount of hope in her eyes. It nearly made Aili cringe, she didn’t like making promises like that. Not when it came to a bounty related to slavers. Not when she knew how fast they usually worked to get their prisoners off-planet and heading to places she wouldn’t be able to track them down easily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t know where they...process the people, children, they take but we know the man who collects payment.” The mayor said before Aili had to attempt to let the woman down as gently as possible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What exactly is this payment?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They take more than half our earnings and they don’t steal our children, this is my fault, I didn’t pay on time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, this isn't your fault. All the blame falls on them for being so low that they steal children and blackmail a town that needs everything they can to make ends meet.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mayor looked at her for a long second before deciding that he would trust her for the moment. “Leetbri, Drej Leetbri is the man who collects. He lives in a sorry excuse for a shack just outside the borders of town.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you. I’ll keep an eye out for any of your children.” She gave the couple one more nod before turning to leave. Aili almost couldn’t believe her luck; Drej Leetbri wasn’t her bounty but he was still just handed to her on a silver platter, silverware and all. That’s what happens when you take someone’s kids away from them, they’ll make sure you go down as soon as the opportunity presents itself. It was easy to find her current quarry, Drej Leetbri now cowering on the ground beneath her. She held him down with a knee to the center of his back, his arm twisted behind him in her painful grip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, I’ll tell you anything you want to know!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drej Leetbri was exactly what Aili expected from a trafficker that was cornered. She tightened her grip on his arm and a dark smile crossed her face at the sound of his yelp. “Where did you take them?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don‘t know what you’re talking about, lady!” Drej shouted out in pain once more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The people you trafficked,” Aili said bluntly, pushing down on his back with his own arm once more. She was quickly running out of patience with him. “Where did you take them?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, some place an hour outside of town!” Aili let out a noise of acknowledgement before pulling just a little more, a loud pop echoing throughout the room. Drej let out a howl of pain followed by several very colorful curses. “You kriffing psycho, I told you what you wanted to know!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you so you’d let me go,” Drej whimpered, his now dislocated shoulder aching.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When did we make that arrangement?” Aili asked as she pulled out her blaster with her free hand. She placed it against Drej’s side and fired. He let out another scream but it quickly died down into whimpers of pain before completely stopping. Once again, he was exactly what she had expected. All talk but once they were held down to the ground, they always tried to talk their ways out of the mess they made. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili got up from the floor and restrained herself from kicking the dead trafficker. That would just be a waste of both time and energy. Especially since now she likely had a whole building to clear of slavers before the suns went down. But before she did that, she needed to go back to her ship and stock up on weapons. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>*Run away to a place where you can breathe*</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a quiet hiss of pain as a blaster shot grazed her arm. She ducked behind a pillar and waited for a pause in the shooting. She didn't have to wait long and she made her move fast. Her previous training was useful when she was outnumbered and this time was no different. They always underestimated women and that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>their downfall. She shot at them, taking several of them out immediately with well-aimed shots. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There weren't that many slavers in the building but they were all well-armed which would make taking them down minutely harder. She grabbed the closest one that was still alive, yanking his arm back until he dropped his blaster and then she used him as a shield. Several voices shouted out, even more blaster shots hit the body she was using, and she dropped her human shield to the ground, running towards the next person. She usually didn't like using her blasters but they were her best bet this time, especially with so many enemies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ducked down to avoid a fist being thrown her way, sweeping her leg out to knock the man down. A quick blaster shot and he was dead. She had just taken down another one when a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders. With a smirk on her face, she elbowed him in the stomach before reaching up to hold onto his neck when his grip loosened. Using his own body as leverage, Aili jumped up to throw him off balance before throwing her body weight forward and flipping him onto the ground. One more hit and he was out. She got back up on her feet, shot the man she had just knocked out, and aimed her blaster down the hallway but no one was there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh, thought there were more,” she said to herself before walking to one of the cells in the room. There were several people huddled in it, more than there should have been, and they were all way too young for Aili’s taste. Made her wish she could shoot the slavers again. She holstered her blasters, knowing that it wasn’t going to be possible to wipe away any blood that was on her clothes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to open the door, I’m not going to hurt any of you.” Aili spoke as softly as she could while still making herself heard. One of the oldest in the cell stared at her, her arms out in front of the others. The two of them stared at each other for a while before the girl gave a short nod. Aili took that as her cue to open the door. Once the door was open, no one made a move towards it as they still weren’t sure that they were actually free. Aili waited for them. She knew how hard it was to suddenly have your freedom when you had already given up the hope of ever having it again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally the girl stepped towards Aili who could now see that it was a Twi’lek who was much younger than expected. Aili would be surprised if the girl was older than Madsin. She recognized the suspicion in the Twi’lek’s eyes though. “Who are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just someone who hates slavers,” Aili answered shortly. She figured the bodies that littered the hallway proved her words to be true. “Are all of you from this planet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. Do you plan on taking us home?” It seemed the Twi’lek had put herself in charge, probably because she was the oldest of the bunch in the cell. That was what Aili would have done, what she </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>done before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If that’s where you want to go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili paused before turning on her heel to lead them out of the building. Part of her wanted to burn it down but that would be a waste of a building and maybe the Oshriyans would want to claim it for themselves. Of course whoever decided to occupy it next would have to deal with the bodies because she wasn’t about to waste time doing anything with them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm Solena,” the Twi’lek girl said, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. She was sticking close to Aili while still keeping the others behind her. They had formed their own pairs and were following behind the two of them silently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Aili.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was the last thing anyone said for the rest of the journey back to the town they had been taken from. Aili felt bad that she hadn't brought enough water for everyone to have more than a sip but it was more than they would have been given with the slavers. That was all she could tell herself to make herself feel better. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were several shouts from the market of Oshriya when they got closer and Aili had to quickly step to the side when multiple people came rushing towards them. She watched as everyone was reunited with their families with a small smile on her face. This was why she did this. She never wanted anyone else to go through the torture of not knowing where their children went, not knowing if they were even still alive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mayor and his wife came over to Aili before she could leave the market. The Mayor’s wife grabbed the bounty hunter’s hand tightly, gratefulness shining in her eyes. “Thank you for returning them to us. Please let us pay you back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not necessary, I’m already being paid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please. It is the least we can do.” The elder made a gesture to the crowd that had surrounded them and suddenly there were more bags of credits being held in Aili’s direction. More than she had seen in a while and she knew it was more than she could take from them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili shook her head and gently pushed away the closest bag. “No, please, keep your credits.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We cannot let you leave empty handed, there must be something you’ll take.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I...supplies? I’ll take any extra supplies you have but only the extras.” Aili made sure to emphasize that last part. She didn’t want to take more than she needed to keep her ship stocked. The crowd seemed to discuss her terms amongst themselves before finally putting away their credits. They then began to gather up any extra goods they had in both their homes and market stands, packing them in crates that Aili could take back to her ship. She still felt guilty for taking anything from them but she knew small settlements well enough to know they would never take no for an answer, especially from someone that they felt they owed a debt to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili was about to head out when the mayor stopped her once more, this time with a much more serious look in his eyes. “If you ever need anything, a place to lay low, Oshriya will always be open to you. We owe you a great debt for returning our children to us and making sure they will never be taken from us again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>*Run away to a place without painful tears*</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The trip back to Nevarro was quick but when Aili caught sight of the Razor Crest she wished that she had taken more than one puck from Karga. Hopefully he had already turned in his pucks and was getting ready to leave again. She knew one thing for certain though, if he had taken any of her pucks she was going to make him her next quarry. Guild code be damned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She walked into the cantina, subtly looking around to make sure there was no Mandalorian in sight. Once she was satisfied, she walked over to Karga’s usual table. She slid both the puck and tracking fob towards him silently. “Had to kill him, he wouldn’t come with me.” If she were being honest, she didn’t even know which man she had killed had been her bounty but either way the job was done. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard, also heard you did what no one else could. Took out the Oshriya slavers!” Karga exclaimed loud enough for the rest of the room to hear. Aili narrowed her eyes at him, she had told him on more than one occasion that she hated when he did that. It drew too much unwanted attention to her and that was the last thing she needed. “Nasty business, slavers, one less ring is better for the galaxy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili stared at him blankly hoping that her anger was clear in her eyes. When she saw him shift in his seat she leaned back against the booth. “Just give me my payment and any other pucks you have.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karga let out a sigh, pulling four pucks out of his bag along with the payment he owed her. He had held back from showing the pucks to anyone knowing that Aili would probably have his head if she found out he was giving away ones that she had laid a claim on. Normally Guild Code called for it to be fair game but once he realized that a few of his hunters would “accidentally” lose their quarry and somehow still have heavy purses, he decided to pull favorites. Mando and Aili were his best, never failing at either dragging in or killing their targets. They didn’t let their personal needs outweigh the price of the bounty. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not too many traffickers with bounties right now, but there is a decent sized bounty in the mix. Smuggler, don’t know what. Didn’t care to ask.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How much?” Aili asked before even bothering to take the pucks. Four was more than she usually took but if they were worth it then she would, especially the smuggler since it was the highest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Five thousand.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>what you’re calling decent?” Aili was not impressed. That wasn't even enough to cover fuel let alone supplies nowadays and with the four girls hiding under her feet...five thousand was nothing. Five thousand was an insult, something that both she and Karga knew. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karga glanced around the room before looking Aili in the eye. “I do have one more, no puck, no chain code.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Underworld?” Aili questioned, already knowing that she probably wouldn’t be taking the job. Underworld meant trouble nine times out of ten and she didn’t need that kind of attention. She couldn't afford to have that kind of attention on her. Couldn’t run the risk of being seen by people she would prefer to stay away from. That’s why she stuck to calling Nevarro some kind of home away from her ship, the people in charge didn’t care about this rock that could barely be called habitable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No idea. All I know is face to face, direct commision and a very deep pocket, " Karga said as he pulled a chit out of his pocket. Aili looked at it for a few seconds debating what to do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something about this felt off to Aili and as much as she wanted to take the chit that Karga was holding out for her to take, she knew it would be better to stick with the pucks. Planet hopping was better than hunting down a single quarry that might not pan out. And she also knew that bounties that required face-to-face meetings meant they would be able to run her face in the system and if they had anything to do with the fallen Empire...better safe than sorry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll take the pucks and I want the payment in either Calamari Flan or Batuuan Spira.” Everyone knew that Imperial credits were all but useless this far from the Core and Aili had no intentions of ever going to a Core planet again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Suit yourself, I’ll have the payment when you get back” Karga shrugged as he placed the chit back into his vest pocket. He had already sent Mando to the Client anyway and he knew the Mandalorian would get the job done. Now he just had to get his hands on the payment that Aili wanted. Aili grabbed the pucks and the tracking fobs, shoving them into her bag before nodding at Karga. She slid out of the booth and left the cantina as quickly as she had come. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She knew that she should go to the covert but she wanted to have more to bring back. A single quarry wasn’t enough even with the addition of what the Oshriyans had given her. This next batch of quarries should be more than enough so long as Karga held up his side of the payment. She wondered how many other hunters had been stupid enough to take the chit, wondered if the Mandalorian had been one of them. She paused for half a second before deciding that he would be dumb enough. She could smell the Imp from miles away and it would take more than a big payday to get her to step foot in their direction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With one more glance towards the alley she knew would lead her to the girls she walked back to her ship. They didn’t need to know that she had come back but she did send a holo telling them about what had happened on Oshriya. She put too many details but she knew that Madsin liked knowing everything down to how she had taken down specific people. Aili was going to blame at least some of it on her previous training, assault procedures were always a good thing to know. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Mandalorian fixes his mistake but gets himself into trouble. Aili is asked for a very big favor.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aili had just handed the Armorer the bag of credits when she tensed up and the largest Mandalorian she had ever seen came into the forge. She had never really seen a lot of the Mandalorians in the Covert other than their bounty hunter but this guy was huge...and very blue. He paused and cocked his head when he saw her and Aili tried not to stare too much. She could almost feel the glare coming from him. It was impressive given the helmet that covered his face. She wondered how long it took Mandalorians to craft their skill in getting their emotions to show past their armor.  </p><p>“What is it?” The Armorer questioned, tilting her helmet slightly. She knew that he would not have come into the forge unannounced without a good reason. </p><p>His helmet tilted towards Aili again before he must have realized that he was wasting time, "That <em>di’kut</em> got himself in trouble, he’s pinned down by the other bounty hunters.”</p><p></p><div class="media-holder media-holder-draggable media-holder-hr">
  <hr class="tmblr-truncated"/>
  <p></p>
  <div class="media-button icon_close media-killer">
    <p> </p>
  </div>
</div><p>Somehow Aili just knew that he was talking about the only other Mandalorian that she had spoken to not even two weeks ago. How he managed to piss off the other hunters was a mystery to her since he never wasted any time speaking to them. The two of them had been in the Guild together for years and the time he tried to take her puck was the first time they had ever spoken. She was actually a little impressed. </p><p>“Then we must go to his aid,” The Armorer ordered as if it was the simplest thing. As if it wouldn’t put the others at risk.</p><p>“We’ll be revealed.”</p><p>“This is the Way." And just like that the argument was over and Aili knew it was time for her to go. Whether that meant to leave the covert and help them or head back to her ship or...there was a problem. </p><p>“You’ll need a plan to get the foundlings out,” Aili spoke up, already standing up so she could help in any way she could. “In case the Guild decides to go after you when you help he get away.”</p><p>“What do you know of the foundlings?” Big Blue growled out as he took half a step towards her. It took every ounce of willpower she had to not bare her teeth or grab her blaster. Shooting each other wasn’t going to help anyone right now. </p><p>“Four of them are <em>mine </em>and if anything happens to them because you want to waste time talking, I promise you that I will not hesitate to kill you,” Aili threatened despite knowing that it was a bad idea. Big Blue had at least a foot on her but she wouldn’t let that stop her. She had taken down bigger targets than him, granted they had never been wearing what looked like 50-plus pounds of armor, but she could probably handle it. </p><p>“Enough. Gather the others and go to his aid.” The Armorer ordered before turning to look at Aili. He knew a dismissal when he saw one and he left almost as quickly as he came but not with one more tilt of his helmet towards Aili. “Aili Verdella, I must ask something of you.”</p><p>“What is it?” Aili kind of hoped she was about to be told to take the kids and leave but she knew that was more than wishful thinking. They were Mandalorian foundlings and they would stay with the Mandalorians even if none of them had sworn the Creed yet. </p><p>“Go to our <em>beroya </em>and help him,” The Armorer said as she held something out for Aili to take. “Show him this, tell him I sent you.”</p><p>Aili made no move to grab whatever it was. She didn’t like this request at all, didn’t like that she was being asked to just leave her girls. “Why would I do that when-" </p><p>“Your <em>ade </em>will be fine, the foundlings will be first to leave should trouble arise and I’ll send them with the best warriors.” The Armorer said knowing that was the only thing that was making Aili hesitate. </p><p>Aili shook her head, that wasn’t enough for her, wasn’t enough of a plan in her opinion. “That’s not making me want to agree, do you even have a way off planet if it comes to it?”</p><p>“Seeking passage will be...difficult but not impossible.”</p><p>Aili paused to think about her choices, none of them easy to choose from. But she finally made a compromise with herself, it was the best option and it was the only one that made the anxiety growing in her chest simmer away. “Take my ship, if I’m to join your bounty hunter then I have to leave my ship behind. It’s a Glowzee-class, more than enough room, and it’s fully stocked. Should have enough fuel to get you at least a few systems away from here.”</p><p>The Armorer stared in silence knowing how much this choice was paining the woman in front of her. To leave her <em>ade </em>behind, to leave the only home she had known for years now and to help someone she didn’t even know aside from their one tense conversation. </p><p>“<em>Vor entye</em>. Now go before the fight is over.” She held her hand out more insistently for Aili to take the item in her hand. The bounty hunter hesitated for half a second before taking it, surprised to see it was a pendant. She didn’t know what it meant or how it would convince the Mandalorian bounty hunter to trust her but she wasn’t about to question it. She pulled off the vambrace that contained the controls to her ship and handed it to the Armorer. She wasn’t going to need it any time soon and she would feel better if the Mandalorians had it at the ready if they faced a blowback from helping their bounty hunter. </p><p>Aili waited half a second longer before she spun on her heel and left the forge, wrapping the cord attached to the pendant around her wrist as she went. She paused at the sound of children asking where everyone was going and she wondered if she should say goodbye. The decision was taken out of her hands when a voice called out to her. “<em>Ori’vod</em>! Are you going too?” </p><p>She turned at the sound, not sure if she was relieved or not. “Madsin, shouldn’t you be keeping an eye on your sisters?”</p><p>“They’re playing with the others. So you’re leaving?” Madsin questioned, crossing her arms over her chest. Her dark brown eyes were narrowed and it reminded Aili of how the other girl had always looked back before they came to Nevarro. Too serious, like she had never had a childhood which was true but it still hurt to see again. </p><p>“The Armorer asked me to help your <em>beroya</em>. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone and I need you to watch your sisters. If someone tells you to run, you run and make sure they’re with you, I want you four to be the first ones on my ship. Got it?”</p><p>It was a lot to ask of Madsin but Aili knew it wouldn’t be a difficult order for the teen to follow. Listening to orders had practically been drilled into all of them before they were old enough to know what a blaster was. The fact that they were given said blasters soon after spoke volumes about their upbringing. Madsin stared at Aili silently before nodding. “<em>Ret’urcye mhi ori’vod</em>.”</p><p>
  <em>                          *Run away to a place where you can breathe*</em>
</p><p>Aili skirted along the edges of the fire fight knowing that going into it would be pointless. The other Mandalorians were about to join in and that meant she needed to get to the Mandalorian bounty hunter’s ship before that. She also needed to get to her ship first and grab whatever she could because while she could handle being without certain comforts, she didn’t want to be without certain things. She’d seen his ship, she’d be surprised if it had a working heat system let alone a decent water system. She rushed over to where she had landed her own ship thankful that she had chosen to land near the Razor Crest for once. </p><p>She shoved things into a couple of bags, not caring what it was for the most part. She did stop by her food supplies and take a couple of things, just in case the Mandalorian didn’t believe in keeping food in stock. She had no idea what he kept on his ship other than weapons and a carbonite freezer. And she only knew he had those things because she had those things. The sounds of the firefight were louder now, the Mandalorians having joined in and Aili let out a silent curse before hitting the control panel to close the gangway, jumping out before it had even begun to close. </p><p>After dropping her bags onto the floor of the Crest, she didn’t have to wait long for him to show up and she couldn’t say she was surprised by his reaction. She would have done the same thing. She was surprised by his shiny new armor but that wasn’t her business. Even though she knew for a fact that beskar was hard to come by nowadays. She couldn’t help but wonder where he had found enough to get new armor from the Armorer though. </p><p>“Why are you here?” The Mandalorian was quick to aim his blaster at her chest before he adjusted his aim towards her head. Looks like he had noticed that her cuirass was made of the same material as his own. He had something wrapped in cloth held against his chest and Aili wondered if that was what the fuss was all about. It didn’t look like anything worth a firefight but what did she know. She couldn’t even see what it was. </p><p>“Your Armorer sent me to help,” Aili said, letting her palm open just enough for the medallion to dangle in the air. Even with the helmet covering his face she could read the surprise in his body language. She was about to say something when she saw movement behind the Mandalorian and she grabbed her blaster as fast as she could, aiming over his shoulder. As expected the Mandalorian bounty hunter did not like that.</p><p>"Don't even think about it Karga," Aili said as the Mandalorian spun around. With two blasters on him now Karga stopped moving forward knowing his chances of stopping Mando were dwindling. He was surprised to see that Aili had apparently teamed up with the Mandalorian. They had only ever met the one time and it hadn’t been a very warm encounter. </p><p>“Now let’s just stop and think about this. You broke the Code and now you’ve dragged my second best into it?"</p><p>Aili bit her tongue to keep her comments to herself. Second best? They were tied at the very least and no one had dragged her into anything. She let her eyes shift over to the Mandalorian to see what he planned to do. </p><p>“Move to the wall.” She almost missed the muttered comment but she was quick to hug the wall when the Mandalorian pressed a button on his vambrace. A grappling hook hit one of the buttons on the ship’s control panel and the bay filled with smoke. Karga shot his blaster, missing both Aili and the Mandalorian in his panic. Aili was about to take aim at him when the Mandalorian beat her and shot Karga out of the ship. It was a good shot and as much as Aili wanted to make sure he was dead, she knew the Mandalorian would take off without her without a second thought. And she had now promised the Armorer to help him so she stayed on the ship.</p><p>The Mandalorian stared at her for half a second longer, still holding the bundle in a way that she couldn’t see what it was, before he shut the ship’s gangway and went up to the cockpit without saying anything. Aili wasn’t about to wear out her welcome so quickly and settled down on top of a cargo crate and waited for the ship to move. The ship took off but the Mandalorian stayed in the cockpit. Aili took the chance to rearrange her things and take stock of everything she had grabbed in her rush. She hoped she had grabbed useful things but when she caught sight of a ratty blanket, she knew she should have paid a little more attention.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Mando’a Translations<br/>for words not seen in past chapters</p><p>di'kut - fool, idiot<br/>Vor entye - "Thank you"; literally: "I accept a debt"<br/>Ret'urcye mhi - Goodbye; literally: "Maybe we'll meet again"<br/>beroya - bounty hunter</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter Four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Din and Aili get to know each other. Kind of. They mostly try not to kill each other. Aili also learns exactly why she was asked to join the Mandalorian.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>they weren’t in hyperspace. She hadn't felt that sudden jolt and she wondered what the Mandalorian was planning. Hopefully he wasn't planning to toss her out into the cold of space. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili had just stood up, about to walk towards the cockpit when she was slammed back against the wall, an arm across her throat to hold her back. She hadn’t even heard him come down. The back of her head bounced off the metal and she forced her face to stay impassive. It kriffing hurt though and she knew she'd have a headache later. But there was no way she’d let the buckethead know any of that. Not when she knew he was just trying to intimidate her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe your last fuck liked it against the wall but I prefer a bed or a cot, I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>picky,” Aili said, her tone bored as she looked into the Mandalorian’s visor. “Unless you want to have that fight now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why are you here?" The voice modulator in his helmet helped him sound threatening and if Aili were anyone else, maybe she'd be scared. It was more than a little unnerving, not being able to see anything but her own reflection in the visor. But just like Big Blue from the Covert, she wasn’t scared of him. Not when she had already mapped out all the ways she could take him down in less than five minutes before they’d even left Nevarro.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I told you, the Armorer sent me." She didn’t know how many more times she would have to say the same thing. She had shown him the amulet the Armorer had given her and that hadn’t been enough. She did know that if he didn’t remove his arm from her throat soon, she’d give him a reason to toss her out the airlock.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I have no idea, you're real shitty company and your ship is ancient,” Aili drawled. She knew that if the Mandalorian was anything like her when it came to her ship, he’d be more than a little offended. Which is why she chose to insult it...but it was ancient. He wouldn’t be able to argue that since it was pre-Empire. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian stared at her for a long minute, watching as she rolled her eyes and began to look around the ship from where she was. Finally he let her go. “I don’t trust you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a scoff. “Didn’t expect you to but you know, I still have no idea why the Guild turned on you. And I’m telling the truth about that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She did know that it had better be something good or else she was going to be very annoyed with the Armorer sending her away. It didn’t matter that now she was owed a debt, she wouldn’t be able to see the girls for who knew how long and she was stuck with the worst company the universe had to offer. She would almost rather be stuck on Tatooine with the worst company the planet could muster. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stared at her for another moment before turning, gesturing for her to follow him. Aili glared at his back as she brushed imaginary dust off her shoulder but she did follow him. She couldn’t deny her curiosity as she went up into the cockpit. The Mandalorian was already sitting in the pilot’s chair again and there was a round pod hovering beside him. Aili walked over to sit down in the co-pilot’s chair. The pod floated closer to her and Aili could see what the fuss was about. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh. I can see why you broke Guild Code,” Aili muttered as she stared into the big, brown eyes of the Child. She wouldn’t have been able to turn the little green thing in either. She probably wouldn’t have even bothered coming back to Nevarro if she didn’t have four girls to take care of. She reached out slowly to run a hand over one of its giant ears. It didn’t seem to hate it as it closed its eyes at the touch. “Cute kid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s 50 years old.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re kriffin’ kidding me.” Ailie turned her head to stare at the Mandalorian in shock. There was no way this kid was older than her, no way he was older than Jaesa. It looked like a toddler. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh. Thought I had seen everything but I guess not. Who put the bounty out on him?” She didn’t know who would want a 50 year old child, especially not one of a species she had never seen before. Unless </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the reason they wanted it. Ugh, collectors. Almost as bad as slave traffickers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Imperials.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili didn’t know what to say to that, actually she did but she didn’t want to say it in front of a kid. She still had no idea why she had agreed to being on the Mandalorian's ship, but looking at a green baby that was apparently fifty years old she would be damned if she let anything happen to him, especially if there were Imps after him. The Child looked over at the Mandalorian with wide eyes that were drooping closed every few seconds. Obviously tired. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wondered exactly what Imperials wanted with it but for now she would settle for no answers. She let out a quiet sigh before heading back down to the cargo hold to one of the bags she had brought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A quick shuffle in the bag and she pulled out a small blanket, it wasn’t in the best condition but it would be enough for the kid. Now to get the Mandalorian to take it for a while. She climbed back up into the cockpit, blanket tucked into her back pocket. The Mandalorian hadn’t so much as flinched when she sat back down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She held the scrap of a blanket out to him. "Here, hold onto this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why?” He made no move to grab the blanket, hadn’t even bothered to do more than glance at it before looking back at his star map. Probably trying to figure out where to go before the Guild caught up to them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Because the kid already imprinted on you and will sleep better if he can smell you. Unless you plan on letting him share your cot because he won't stop crying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"..." He didn’t say anything as he snatched the blanket from Aili and placed it on his lap. She wasn’t about to comment on how that wouldn’t help with putting his scent on it. She’d let him figure that one out on his own since he wasn’t being a very good host right now. Hadn’t even offered her a drink before pinning her against a wall. She usually preferred at least two drinks before letting someone do that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So where are we heading?” She asked to attempt a conversation. She figured it would be somewhere small, a planet or a moon that had a low population. But it would be nice to know specifics. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do you have armor made of beskar?” The Mandalorian shot back at her, not even the voice modulator could hide the accusation in his voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili stared at the Mandalorian with a blank look on her face. “I didn’t steal it if that’s what you’re implying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never said anything about you stealing it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like I said, it was implied. Now where are we going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorgan.” He finally answered after a long silence, reaching over to give the Child the blanket that Aili had given him. “It doesn’t have a population density, no star port, no industrial centers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili made a face at the blanket but she couldn’t stop the smile when the Child took it in his tiny hands. He really was cute. She looked back at the Mandalorian. “So it’s such a backwater skug hole that it won’t be on other hunter’s sensors.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a small hum, agreeing that it was their best option at the moment. Silence came over the cockpit, the Child curling his fingers around the “new” blanket he had been given. The Mandalorian entered the coordinates before turning to look at Aili.  “Are you going to answer my question?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your Armorer made it for me,” she answered shortly. She didn’t think she needed to give him the long story, it wasn’t like they were friends who traded stories. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You answered one, I answered one. We’re even.” She didn't owe him any answers especially after he threatened to shoot her in the head back on Nevarro followed by him trying to choke her after almost giving her a concussion. He let out what sounded like a sigh before looking down at the Child in his pram. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You ready to lay low for a couple of months and stretch your legs, you little womp rat?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A small smile crossed Aili’s face at the sound of the kid’s new nickname. The Mandalorian set the ship's autopilot on and stood from his seat. Aili slid her gaze from the stars streaking past them to the man she assumed was staring at her now. "Did you need something?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stared at each other for a minute before the Mandalorian finally gestured to the door of the cockpit. He walked out first and Aili stood up and followed since she assumed that’s what he wanted from her. He opened a panel on the wall, revealing a sorry excuse for a cot. She truly wondered how this was the bounty hunter considered top of the Guild alongside her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have another cot, you can use it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to act all chivalrous, I’ll be just fine on the floor.” Aili pointed over to where she had placed her things before the Mandalorian had made it to the ship. One of the bags held the weapons she didn’t usually take with her and a few other things while another bag held weapons she used more often, and another yet had necessities like another blanket and a small pillow. Actually she had gotten a lot of her things onto the Crest given her time constraint. The helmet tilted to the side just a little and Aili wondered if he was trying to figure out when and how she had gotten some of her things on board when it hadn’t taken him that long to get back to his ship once the rest of the Covert came to his rescue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t let you sleep on the floor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why, ‘cause it’s dirty? Mando, I don’t care, I’ve slept on </span>
  <em>
    <span>sand </span>
  </em>
  <span>before. Do you know how uncomfortable sand is to sleep on?” They stared at each other for a tense couple of minutes before Aili threw her hands up in annoyance. “Split it, 50/50. You take it one day, I’ll take it the next.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine. You get it first.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili cringed at the thought but kept her comments to herself. “Fine. Are you going to keep the Child with you or should I put him to bed?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll keep him with me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay you do know I can’t make off with him, right? We’re in hyperspace,” Aili said, an incredulous look on her face. Even if she made off with the escape pod, which she wasn’t sure she could even find on this wreck of a ship, they were in </span>
  <em>
    <span>hyperspace</span>
  </em>
  <span>. There was no telling where she’d end up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll wake you when we drop out of hyperspace.” The Mandalorian said before turning to go back up into the cockpit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doubt I’ll sleep that long but okay,” Aili muttered to herself, she had doubts that she would be able to get even a standard hour of sleep on the cot. But she was tired, the day had been a long one even if she hadn’t been in the firefight. She hadn’t slept before getting to Nevarro and then she had to run to get onto the ship. With one last cringe she grabbed her blanket and pillow before climbing into the cot. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Our trio makes it to Sorgan but will they be able to stay?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>They landed in a clearing in the middle of nowhere and Aili was quick to head down to the gangway. She was already tired of being on this ship with the Mandalorian just silently sitting and staring. She didn’t have anything but the silence on her own ship but even that was more comfortable. She couldn't make out what the Mandalorian was telling the Child, who really needed a name of some sort, but she could imagine that he wouldn't listen. Her suspicions were confirmed when she noticed the small kid waddling after Mando. She bit her lip to stop from smiling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian opened the gangway before he finally looked down at the Child beside him. Aili could hear him let out a sigh, it sounded crackly thanks to his helmet's voice modulator. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s not going to stay if we leave.” Aili said quietly. She tried hard to keep the amused smile off of her face but it wasn’t working. The Mandalorian looked at her before looking back down at the Child. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ah, what the hell...come on, kid."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three of them walked through the wooded area silently, Aili making sure to take in everything around them. She knew the Mandalorian was probably doing the same thing, just because they hadn’t been followed didn’t mean they were in the clear. They came across what looked like a community hub in Aili’s opinion, maybe a common house. Everyone was talking amongst themselves and absolutely no one looked ready to start throwing punches.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian chose a table away from everyone else but not too far back just in case they had to run. He picked up the Child and placed him on the seat next to him and Aili sat on the other side of the little green kid in order to flank him just in case something happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili did a quick glance from one end of the common house to the other and noticed a woman sitting against the far wall by herself. Hmm, interesting. What was she doing here? Aili let her gaze fall onto the proprietor walking their way figuring they wouldn’t have any trouble from the woman in the corner. She knew when someone was trying to hide from their past, she saw it every time she looked in a mirror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Welcome travelers, can I interest you in anything?” The proprietor, a woman who had probably spent her whole life on Sorgan, came up to them with a smile on her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bone broth, for the little one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well you’re in luck ‘cause I just took down a gringer, can I interest you two in a porringer of broth as well?" The proprietor asked, eyebrows raised in the hopes of a bigger sale. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both Aili and the Mandalorian said at the same time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili tried not to glare at the Mandalorian. She wasn't sure how he wasn't hungry but she hadn't eaten anything since before they left Nevarro. She smiled up at the proprietor and makde her next words drip with sugar, “I would love some, ignore him. He gets a little grumpy after a long flight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh where did you come from?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you believe if I told you we came all the way from Batuu?” Aili wasn't stupid. She wasn't going to tell the woman the truth, that way if anyone showed up asking about them, the information wouldn't match. Nevarro was a ways away from Batuu after all. And if they were lucky, Karga was dead and no one knew to ask for a Mandalorian travelling with a woman and child. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We got to talking with someone who said Sorgan would be just as beautiful as the Spires and so we decided to come right over. But the trip was very long, could we actually get a porringer to go so he can have some later when he’s less grumpy?” Aili could almost feel the glare the Mandalorian was giving her behind his helmet but she didn’t care. For someone who wanted to lay low he was exceptionally bad at making himself less intimidating. Playing up the odd couple and their alien kid would work in their favor making them fit in easier. And if Mando wanted to stay here for longer than a night, they needed to fit in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No problem for someone as nice as you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was about to leave when the Mandalorian made a sound. “Excuse me, but that one over there. When did she arrive?" He tilted his head towards where the shock trooper that Aili had spotted earlier was sitting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, I’ve seen her here for the last week or so," the proprietor shrugged her shoulders, unsure why they wanted to know.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s her business here?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Business? There’s really not much in Sorgan so I really can’t say. I mean she doesn’t strike me as a...log runner.” She trailed off as Mando placed several coins on the table between them. Aili hid a cringe behind her hand. “Thank you, sir. I’ll get that broth to you right away and I’ll throw in a flagon of spotchka just for good measure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Aili asked as soon as the women left. “You call that laying low, asking questions and bribing someone, and where are you going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She glared at his retreating back and wondered if she should follow before deciding that if he wanted to get his ass handed to him by a rebel shock trooper then he could be her guest. But she wasn’t about to leave the kid on his own and the proprietor was so nice that she would feel bad if they just left now. Besides she had given too much of a cover story for them to just leave. She thanked the proprietor when she placed the bowls of bone broth in front of her and the kid and even though she could tell the kid was itching to follow Mando, she was able to get him to take a few sips of his broth.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Want to go see what he's up to, kid?" Aili asked, looking down at the Child. He let out a coo and she picked him up, bowl and all. She gave the proprietor a quick nod, pointing back at their table to let her know they would be back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as she stepped outside she heard boots dragging on dirt and small grunts. She looked up towards the sky and asked for any higher power to give her the patience to deal with this. She put the kid down and they both walked over towards the sounds.  Well, she walked and the kid shuffled after her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili looked down at the two with a raised eyebrow and pursed lips. She was not amused by them choosing to fight each other rather than talking it out. The Child seemed to be amused though, sipping his bone broth contently as he watched them. They both slowly looked over when the kid took a loud slurp of his broth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyone else want some soup?” She didn’t wait for either of them to get up, turning on her heel and scooping up the Child so they could head back into the small cantina. She heard them get up to follow her back and they all sat down at the table. There was a short silence between them before the shock trooper broke it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cara Dune.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aili Verdella.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian stayed quiet but neither of the women were that surprised. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, shock trooper?” AIli asked, her curiosity needing to know if she had gotten it right from her earlier glance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Saw most of my action mopping up after Endor, mostly ex-Imperial warlords. They wanted it fast and quiet so they’d send us on drop ships. No support, just us. Then the politics started and I didn’t care for that so I left.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’d you end up here?” The Mandalorian asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Early retirement of sorts. Look I could tell you were Guild, thought you had a fob on me, that’s the only reason I came at you so hard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I figured.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what are a Mandalorian and an...ow!” Cara was cut off by a sharp kick to the shin. She glared at Aili who gave an icy stare back. The Mandalorian looked between the two of them, eyes narrowed from behind his helmet. He didn’t like not knowing something that everyone else knew. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What am I missing here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My leg slipped, sorry,” Aili said before Cara could say anything. “He skipped on a bounty and now we need somewhere to lay low.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, unless you want to go another round, this planet’s taken.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Clearly,” Aili said. She knew better than to steal someone else’s hiding spot and she figured the Mandalorian was the same way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stayed in the common house until the kid finished his bowl of broth before they headed back out. The proprietor had come by before and gave them the bowl she had promised to save for the Mandalorian along with a bottle of Spotchka. They made it back to the Razor Crest shortly but not quick enough to make it before the sun set. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need to make some repairs before we leave,” Mando said, already going into the ship and returning with a tool box. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Need help?” Aili asked as she watched the Mandalorian place the tool box into the ground before he went to move onto the ship again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not even to bring out your lights?” Aili didn’t much care for the Mandalorian’s tough guy, ‘only I can help myself’ attitude. It wouldn’t help in the long run at all and the sooner he realized that, the sooner she could help him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They made quick work of setting up the lights in a way that he would be able to see what he was doing but not be too bright in the dark forest. The last thing they needed was to be found because they were shining a literal beacon leading to them. Aili sat on the back gangway as Mando worked on some of the wiring under one of the landing gears. The kid had gone to sleep a while ago, something they were both grateful for since he was a handful already. Aili still wasn’t sure she really believed that he was 50 years old. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was nothing but the chirping sound of whatever bug life Sorgan had when Aili heard hesitant footsteps coming their way. No bounty hunter would be that obvious or that hesitant. She hopped down and made her way to where Mando was just in case. There were two locals looking scared out of their minds. No threat to anyone except maybe the bugs flying around. But she kept to the shadows of the ship for now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian made no move to acknowledge them but Aili knew that he had to know they were there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me, sir.” The other local tried this time, voice a little louder but nonetheless scared. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There something I can help you with?” Mando moved under the landing gear, not stopping what he was doing. Aili took note that he sounded more than a little annoyed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah. Raiders,” one of the men said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have money,” the other added quickly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That caught Aili’s attention. She had a decent amount of credits saved up but didn’t know about the Mandalorian. Eventually though they would need more money now that they were obviously blacklisted from the Guild and on the run. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think I’m some kind of mercenary?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a Mandalorian, right?” The one man said and Aili cringed. Not all Mandalorians were mercenaries and she had only heard rumors of one during the war. So this man’s comment was ill-advised. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or at least wearing Mandalorian armor? That is Mandalorian armor, right?” The other man sounded more in awe of seeing an actual Mandalorian than his friend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See? I told him. Sir, I’ve read a lot about your people...tribe. If half of what I read is true--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have money.” The first man interrupted before the other could go on a rant. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How much?” Aili asked, walking out of the shadows and bringing their attention onto her now. She could tell Mando wasn’t interested but that didn’t mean he had to be an ass about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything we have. Our whole harvest was stolen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re krill farmers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We brew spotchka, the whole village chipped in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian turned to look at the small pouch the one man was holding. “It’s not enough.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Mando, we don’t even know what the job is,” Aili could tell they were desperate people. It took desperate people to come looking for what they hoped were mercenaries. She assumed they had seen them flying overhead when they came in to land. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not enough,” Mando said, looking straight at Aili before turning to the men. “Good luck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is everything we have, we can give you more after the next harvest.” The men jumped back when the gangway started opening and Aili glared at Mando. He was being a kriffing ass to these people for no reason. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on...let’s head back.” The dejected sound in the man’s voice pulled at something in Aili. She never had been able to ignore the desperate and unprotected. Hadn’t been able to since she was 18 and stupid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay there.” Aili said to them before storming over to Mando. “Hey! Stop being an ass and maybe think about helping them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. It’s not enough and we’ve already spent too much time here.” He didn’t even bother to look at her as he spoke which made her annoyance with him just about shoot up into the atmo. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that the best you can come up with?” Aili turned on her heel to call back towards the locals. Maybe their village would be in a place they could lay low for a while. She really needed a break from the Crest before getting back on it with the buckethead. “Hey, where’s your village?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“About a day’s ride from here, middle of nowhere. On a farm, weren’t you listening?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was, he wasn’t.” Aili said before continuing. “You have lodging?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Absolutely.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili turned to face the Mandalorian with one eyebrow raised. The helmet stared back at her for a long moment before his shoulders went up and down in a sigh. He turned towards the krill farmers, “Come up and help”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll help us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry about him,” Aili said as they walked up the gangway. The four of them made quick work, unloading everything the Mandalorian deemed necessary. Aili grabbed her bags and the kid from the little cot the Mandalorian still dared to call a bed. Her back had actually ached for the first time in a long time when she slept on it the one time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need one more thing, give me those credits.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are you going?” Aili asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion. It wasn’t like they needed any ammo or even more weapons. Between the two of them they could fit a small army. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To get a shock trooper.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh, good idea, I knew you had a brain in there somewhere.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay with the Child.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Obviously,” Aili said as she hopped onto the repulsorlift and made sure the kid was okay. She moved a few of the boxes around knowing they’d need more room if they wanted to be comfortable in any way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So are you and the Mandalorian like…” the more excited of the two men trailed off and Aili gave him a deadly stare. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna stop you right there,” Aili said bluntly. They let silence fall over them after that which Aili was thankful for. It didn’t take much longer for the Mandalorian and Cara to show up. The two women exchanged short nods before everyone climbed onto the repulsorlift. The repulsorlift began to move and the Mandalorian began to explain the job to Cara. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So we’re basically running off a bunch of Raiders for lunch money?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re quartering us in the middle of nowhere. Last I checked that’s a pretty square deal for somebody in your position. Worst case, you tune up your blaster.  Best case, we’re a deterrent. Can’t imagine there’s anything living in these trees that an ex-shock trooper couldn’t handle.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara stared at him before conceding and turning to speak to Aili. “Is he always like this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A condescending pain in the ass?” Aili asked before smirking and shrugging. “Wouldn’t know, only been stuck with him for a few days and they have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>long</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you two finished?” The Mandalorian asked before stretching out to lean back against one of the bags he had brought off the ship. Cara and Aili shared one last glance before settling down as well. They all drifted to sleep, Cara on one side and the Mandalorian on the other. Aili wound up in the middle with the kid to keep him warm. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter Six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The rag tag group makes it to the village they agreed to help. Cara makes teasing comments, Aili doesn't like awkward situations, the Child plays with kids his size rather than age, and the Mandalorian has no manners.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Morning came quicker than Aili wanted it too and she squinted as she opened her eyes. She didn’t know what time it was but she did know that the sun was out in full force making it very bright to her sleep-weary eyes. She could hear what sounded like kids running around and she pushed herself up from where she had been laying. The Child was already awake, peering over the side of the repulsorlift with his wide eyes. She couldn’t tell if Mando was awake but she could see that Cara was still asleep.</p><p>She moved as quietly as she could to lean against the side of the repulsorlift beside the Child. The village was wide awake, men and women doing their work as the children played. Aili’s heart skipped a beat at the sight. There were children here. The repulsorlift came to a stop and Cara shook awake, sitting up to look over at the village. Mando sat up as well, slower than Cara making Aili think that he had been awake already. She missed the look Cara gave Mando, smirk on her face that both he and Aili missed. </p><p>A large group of kids ran over to them excitedly announcing their arrival. They came to a stop at the sight of the Child, awe in their eyes over how cute he was. </p><p>“Well I guess they’re happy we’re here,” Mando said as he stood up to get off the lift. Cara and Aili followed after him to help unload all of their gear. The Child would be fine with all the other kids. One of the villagers pointed out two huts that were going to be their sleeping quarters and Cara gave Aili and Mando one glance before chuckling. </p><p>“I’ll take that one, you two have that other one,” she chuckled again before walking off and leaving them alone with the Child who had gotten away from the other kids. </p><p>“What was that about?” Aili asked, glancing over at Mando who just shrugged. The three of them walked over to the hut just as a woman lifted up a hatch that would let some light into the room. She turned to them and a small smile crossed her face when they stayed in the doorway. </p><p>"Please come on in. I hope this is comfortable for you,” she said as she tied the rope around a notch to keep the hatch open.  “I'm sorry all we have to offer is the barn."</p><p>"This will do fine."</p><p>"To be completely honest, anything would be more comfortable than the cot on our ship," Aili mock-whispered to the woman, a grin on her face. She let out a small laugh at Aili’s comment. </p><p>“It’s not that bad,” Mando said shortly. He wasn’t going to let her know that he agreed and that he usually slept in the cockpit in the pilot’s chair. </p><p>“Yes it is.”</p><p>Omera let out a soft laugh before pointing over towards the wall behind her, "I've stacked some blankets over here, there should be plenty."</p><p>"Thank you."</p><p>“That’s very kind.” Mando said in a stilted manner causing Aili to raise an eyebrow in confusion. He leaned his Amban rifle against a wooden beam and leaned down to continuing unpacking. Aili had just turned to speak to the woman when she heard a soft footstep followed by the Mandalorian spinning around, one hand going to rest on his rifle. Aili let out a soft groan, bringing a hand up to her face in embarrassment. </p><p>The woman went over to the doorway and pulled the child into her arms. “This is my daughter, Winta. We don’t get a lot of visitors around here.”</p><p>Mando still stood stock still and Aili went over to him, lips pursed in annoyance. She brought a hand up and smacked him on the chest plate before turning back to the woman and child with a small smile on her face. “We’re going to get rid of the bad guys. You won’t have to be scared anymore, I promise.”</p><p>Winta looked up at Aili from her mother’s arms, eyes glancing over to Mando before meeting Aili’s gaze again. “Thank you.”</p><p>“No problem, sweetie,” Aili said, the smile still on her face. </p><p>Mando simply nodded his helmet, not moving other than that. He was like a shiny beskar statue and Aili felt her smile become strained. </p><p>“Let’s give our guests some room. My name is Omera if you need anything,” she said, giving Aili a nod of thanks for calming her daughter down from her scare. Once they were out of sight, Aili’s smile dropped from her face and she turned to look at the Mandalorian with a threat in her eyes. </p><p>“What the kriff was that?”</p><p>“She shouldn’t have snuck up on us,”</p><p>“She is a child. A curious, scared child,” Aili whispered harshly, leaning down to pick up the Child at their feet. Someone had been nice enough to bring a small cradle into the barn for him and she placed him in it now. “At least try to remember what it was like being scared at that age.”</p><p>She let her words hang in the air as she moved over to the other side of the barn to unpack her own things. Maybe an hour had passed and Aili sat on the small bed she had made for herself, watching as Mando kept messing with his Amban rifle. She was honestly a little astounded that one man could spend so much time cleaning one blaster.</p><p>The Child kept looking at the both of them with his wide eyes and Aili idly wondered if there was anyone she could ask for food. They hadn’t eaten since the previous day and it was only bone broth. The Child was probably starving and Aili felt terrible for just suddenly realizing it. As if she heard your prayers, Omera spoke from the doorway.</p><p>“Knock, knock.”</p><p>“Come in,” Mando said, turning his head just enough to see it was Omera. Aili was two seconds away from smacking him upside the helmet to teach him some manners. Omera entered the hut, a tray of food for the three of them. </p><p>“I brought some food for you two, I noticed you didn’t come out earlier,” Omera said as she placed the tray of food down on a crate they were calling a table for now. Winta came in right after and hid behind her mother like a little shadow. You watched as Winta glanced up at her mother with hopeful eyes who in turn smiled and nodded. </p><p>“Can I feed him?” Winta asked shyly, a little more confident than when she had thanked Aili earlier. </p><p>Mando looked at her before nodding his head. “Sure.”</p><p>Winta rushed over to where the Child was and held out what looked like a mushroom for him to take. You watched as he ate it and let out a breath when he didn’t spit it out. Winta let out a giggle as she watched him before she looked up at Mando again. “Can I play with him?”</p><p>Mando paused for a moment before letting out a sigh, “Sure.” He moved over to pick the Child up and placed him on the ground beside Winta.</p><p>“Come on,” she said, both children immediately taking off to rejoin the other kids. </p><p>Mando took a step forward quickly, “I don’t think-”</p><p>“They’ll be fine,” Omera said, gently stopping him from going after the kids.</p><p>“I don’t-” </p><p>“They’ll be fine Mando.” Aili said, finally getting up from her makeshift bed. She was getting weird vibes from Mando towards Omera and she did not want to be near any of that awkwardness. “But if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll go watch them.”</p><p>“You haven’t eaten either.” Mando said before she could even make it a step towards the door. The tone of his voice made Aili stop in her tracks before turning on her heel to give him a look  of barely concealed annoyance. Omera watched with amusement in her eyes. </p><p>“I’ll be fine Mando,” Aili replied, holding back a comment about how she had gone longer without food before. She was pretty sure the longest was five days, give or take a day. Maybe it had been six, she wasn’t sure, things got a little fuzzy after the fourth day. </p><p>“No, you need to eat. We’re going to scout the raiders later.” Mando nodded his head towards the tray, “You eat first.”</p><p>Aili stared at him for a long moment, hoping she was making eye-contact so he would be uncomfortable. When he didn’t move or say anything else, she sighed and rolled her eyes but still sat back down and picked up what she assumed was her portion of the meal. She cursed her inability to ignore perceived orders sometimes. Omera stayed where she was, staring at the Mandalorian. </p><p>“Can I ask you something?” Omera questioned.</p><p>The Mandalorian didn’t pause in his cleaning, “Go ahead.”</p><p>“How long has it been since you’ve taken that off?”</p><p>“Yesterday.”</p><p>“She means in front of someone else, genius,” Aili said from where she sat. She knew the answer to Omera’s question but she wondered if Mando would tell her. She watched as Mando walked over to the window and pointed to the playing kids.</p><p>“I wasn’t much older than they were.”</p><p>“You haven’t shown your face to anyone since you were a kid?” Omera sounded incredulous and Aili thought she heard a little sadness in her voice as well. It was the same thing she had felt when Madsin had gone through her verd’goten but then the Armorer had obliged her request to wait to take the Creed until the age of adulthood from the home planet she vaguely remembered. Thankfully no one had disagreed with it, at least none that Aili was aware of. </p><p>“No.” It seemed Mando had picked up on it as well. “I was happy when they took me in. My parents were killed and the Mandalorians took care of me.”</p><p>Aili turned her head a little to look at Mando. She hadn’t known that he was a foundling, he carried himself like someone who had been raised in the Covert since birth. But now that she knew, it made other things make more sense. Namely the way he appeared to give most of the credits he earned to the Covert if the state of the Razor Crest was anything to go by. She knew pickings were slim with the Guild with every passing day but there was still enough to take care of a ship like the Crest. </p><p>“I’m sorry.”</p><p>“This is the Way.”</p><p>Aili didn’t mean to roll her eyes but he couldn’t see her anyway. Omera gave Mando one last look before stepping back. “Let us know if you need anything else.”</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p> Aili took one last bite of her food before getting up, grabbing a piece of bread for the Child. “I’m finished, let me know when it’s okay for us to come back in.”</p><p>“I will.”</p><p>“And all of that food better be gone,” Aili said as she stared at Mando with one raised eyebrow. If he was going to treat her like a kid, she was going to do the same to him. Especially since she was pretty sure they were around the same age which made his behavior even stupider. She would kick his ass if he treated her like a breakable kid just because she was smaller than him. With one last pointed stare at him she turned to leave the hut to watch the kids playing. </p><p>            *Run away to a place where you can breathe*</p><p>Mando, Aili, and Cara walked through the forest beyond the village, Mando using the thermal reader in his t-visor to follow the raider’s footsteps. Aili could just about make them under the fresher prints from both animals and people. Mando stopped and pressed a few buttons on his vambrace. </p><p>“About 15 or 20 came through here on foot,” he pointed in the direction they came from. Aili glanced at the trees and tilted her head in confusion. </p><p>“If they were on foot then what did that to the trees?” She asked, pointing up at the broken branches. That wasn’t the work of raiders with hand-held weapons.</p><p>“Something big," Mando said, scanning the branches with his HUD but there were no matches.</p><p>They walked a little further, coming to a small clearing where there was a large print in the dirt. They all kneeled down to take a closer look but Cara was the first to speak. “AT-ST.”</p><p>“Imperial walker, what’s it doing here?” Mando questioned. There wasn't an Imperial presence on the planet, not since the end of the war. </p><p>Aili shrugged, “Probably left when the Empire fell, scavenged by the raiders.”</p><p>“This is more than I signed up for," Cara said, standing up to give Mando and Aili a look. Aili went to say something but Mando spoke first.</p><p>“Let’s get back to the village.”</p><p>                 *Run away to a place without painful tears*</p><p>“Bad news. You can’t live here anymore.” Mando said bluntly after they had gathered all of the villagers.</p><p>“Mando,” Aili hissed under her breath.</p><p>“Is his bedside manner always so good?” Cara whispered to her.<br/>“I wouldn’t know, thankfully.” Aili whispered back.</p><p>“If you two think you could do better.”</p><p>“Can’t do worse than that.” Aili muttered as Cara stepped forward. </p><p>“I know this is not the news you wanted to hear, but there are no other options." Cara said, holding her hands up in a placating matter. Aili let out a quiet sigh as she leaned back against the hut, the doorway between her and Mando. She knew she wasn't the best at speaking but this was quickly going downhill. </p><p>“You took the job!"</p><p>“That was before we knew about the AT-ST."</p><p>“What is that?"</p><p>“The armored walker with two giant guns that no one told us about,” Aili spoke up.</p><p>The villagers all started shouting again, calls of anger about how they took the job. Aili felt for them, she did. But if Mando and Cara weren’t in then there was no way she could do the job on her own. Maybe if it was just raiders but an AT-ST? No way. </p><p>“We have nowhere to go."</p><p>“This is a big planet, I mean I’ve seen smaller ones.” Cara was just as bad as Mando at speaking to the villagers. Aili let out a low sigh when there was an uproar. </p><p>“My grandparents seeded these ponds!”</p><p>“It took generations!”</p><p>“I understand. I do, but there’s only three of us.”</p><p>A light went off in Aili’s head at Cara’s comment and she perked up. “Unless we teach them to fight.” Aili stated, looking over at Cara and the Mandalorian. “It shouldn’t be too hard, Klatoonians are bottom of the barrel and there’s at least 20 able-bodied people here in the village.”</p><p>She looked out to the crowd and gave them a look. One of the men took her hint and spoke up,“Yeah there’s enough of us.”</p><p>Cara looked from Aili to the villagers, shaking her head in disbelief. “None of you are fighters. Be realistic.”</p><p>“Cara.” Aili tried to say. </p><p>“No, I’ve seen that thing take out whole companies of soldiers in a matter of minutes.”</p><p>Omera stood her ground, looking from Aili to Mando to Cara. “We’re not leaving.”</p><p>“You cannot fight that thing.”</p><p>“Unless we show them how.” Mando finally spoke up.</p><p>“Oh, now you speak up,” Aili muttered to herself, knowing Mando would probably still be able to hear her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter Seven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They train a bunch of farmers how to survive, Cara continues to tease, and Aili knocks Mando on his ass in front of everyone. It is as funny as you think it is. And then after there’s a big fight.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“You really think we can train them this fast?” Cara asked, staring at Mando and Aili like they had lost their minds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Aili said, keeping her voice steady. She wasn’t saying it was going to be easy but it wouldn’t be impossible. Anyone could be trained to protect themselves and if she hadn’t promised herself to never train children again, she would have suggested that too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just because you were trained doesn’t mean they can be." Cara said, giving Aili a hard stare. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll teach them enough to keep them alive,” Aili stated. “That’s all they need to know, enough to keep them alive and keep the raiders off of us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We take out the AT-ST while they hold off the raiders.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You want to use them as bait?” Mando questioned, voice clearly hardening even past the voice modulator. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili rolled her eyes as she looked up at him, "No you idiot, they'd be a diversion."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what bait is," he said, voice going towards angry now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe with Mandalorians but not with me.” Aili knew it was a low blow but someone had to say it. She had never used civilians as bait nor would she ever do so.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, can we agree on a plan or what?" Cara interrupted before they could get into a fight. They couldn't afford to have their two best fighters out of commission because they had a tiff. She really wished she had the time to just lock them in a hut and leave them there until they either killed each other or fucked away their growing tension. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve already said my piece.” Aili stated, crossing her arms over her chest and waiting for Mando to say anything else. When he didn’t, Cara nodded her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So we agree that once we lure the raiders out, we take out the AT-ST. Now how do we want to get them out here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once they had a plan, they gathered all of the villagers at a point they had decided would be the best place to execute it. Mando was, somehow, still elected to be the first one to speak. Aili honestly just liked to make him uncomfortable being the center of attention. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have two problems, the raiders and the mech. If you can hold off the raiders, we can take out the mech. But I don’t have to tell you how dangerous they are,” Mando started before turning to Cara. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cara Dune here was a veteren, a drop soldier for the Rebellion and she’s going to lay out a plan for you so listen. Carefully.” Mando gestured for Cara to speak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There is nothing on this planet that can take out this thing’s legs so we need to build a trap.” Cara started, pointing down to the ground before them as she continued. “We’re going to dig a trench here, deep, so that when it steps in, it drops. The three of us-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Two.” Aili interrupted suddenly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Mando said lowly, turning his helmet ever so slightly to look at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The two of you will hit their camp and provoke them. I’ll stay here and help hold them off when they come out of the woods.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That wasn’t the plan we agreed on,” Mando stated, anger now coming off of him as he stared down at Aili. This had been just as much her plan as his and Cara’s, and now she was changing it?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Plans were made to be changed depending on circumstances. It won’t take three of us to provoke them and one extra person here can make all the difference.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” Mando said shortly before turning back to the villagers.”I’m going to need you to cut down trees and build barricades along these edges. They need to be high enough that they can’t get over and strong enough that it can’t break through.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyone know how to shoot a blaster?” Aili asked, looking at each of the villagers. Omera was the only one to raise her hand and it took everything in Aili to not curse out loud. She turned to Mando, “Blaster rifle for Omera, pistols for everyone else. We’ll train them accordingly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Agreed. Let’s get to work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>*Run away to a place where you can breathe*</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian and Cara watched from their separate spots as Aili taught the farmers how to take an opponent down. Neither of them knew how she was able to teach the farmers so quickly when none of them had any fighting experience. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara had all but given up showing some of them how to jab out with their makeshift spears after the tenth time they held it wrong. But Aili had made a little more progress with them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only thing that was truly going their way was the fact that Omera knew how to shoot a blaster rifle but even that wasn’t going to be enough if they couldn’t prepare everyone else. They’d be run down like krill and then the AT-ST would take out the rest of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Mando!” Aili shouted towards them. “Get over here, I need a partner!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara let out a quiet chuckle, “You better head on over before someone else partners up with her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian ignored Cara’s comment and walked over to where Aili had been teaching the farmers hand-to-hand as a backup if they lost their blasters or spears. “What do you need?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gonna show them basic hand-to-hand but it’s easier to show them with someone who knows it as well.” Aili said before pointing for him to stand in front of her before she turned her back to him to face the farmers. “Okay so this should be easier for some of you than it is for me but if a raider attacks you from behind...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She trailed, hoping Mando would take it as a cue. He did and he grabbed her by the shoulder. He wasn’t prepared for her to immediately spin around and grab him by the arm, twisting it before using his own weight against him to throw him to the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>From across the way he could hear Cara laughing and even Aili had to stifle a laugh as she looked at the farmers again. “Once they’re on the ground, that’s your opening to take them out with your staff or your blaster if you have one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if they come from the front?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excellent question. Mando?” The Mandalorian sighed before getting up from the ground and going for Aili again. She aimed a kick at his chest and he was shocked that he actually went backwards from the force. She grabbed one of the spears and stabbed him right below where his chest piece ended when he went for her again. He let out a grunt of pain and fell to his knee while Aili aimed an imaginary blaster to his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bang, he’s dead.” Aili said with a cheeky smile. “Remember the raiders won’t have beskar armor so feel free to aim anywhere it’ll hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara was still cracking up loud enough for them all to hear and the Mandalorian felt his face grow warm. "Are we done?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, I want to show them a few more things." The smile on Aili’s face let him know that now she was just doing this to torture him. Probably payback for slamming her against the wall of the Crest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time she was done showing the villagers a few more easy moves along with some that were obviously too advanced, the Mandalorian’s armor was covered in grass stains and Cara had to leave before she made herself pass out from laughing too hard. There was just something so funny about the Mandalorian being taken down multiple times by a woman that only came up to his shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now are we done?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you can go clean up now. Thanks.” Aili smiled, patting Mando on his pauldron before turning back to the villagers. “Now I know the thought of fighting these guys is scary but if we all work together, the blasters and spears should be enough.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>*Run away to a place without painful tears*</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili strapped on another holster, just in case her main blaster broke or got knocked out of her hand. Better safe than sorry. She also checked her belt to make sure her flash chargers were there along with the expandable staff she had bought years ago. It was barely more sturdy than the wooden spears the farmers had but it would hit harder. What she wouldn’t give for a staff made of beskar or at least a harder metal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She heard footsteps come up behind her in the hut as she was putting on the gloves she used when expecting a fist fight and she turned to face the Mandalorian. “How are we looking out there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Better than before," Mando said shortly. "Listen, don't make yourself a bigger target and stick with the villagers."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Excuse me?" Aili paused, a glove halfway on as she looked up at Mando with a hard look in her eyes already. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We don't need anyone to be a martyr in case this goes wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay, for one, this plan is solid and secondly, you are not the boss of me,” Aili said, roughly pulling her glove on the rest of the way and shoving past the Mandalorian to join the villagers at the barricades. Mando watched as she left and his shoulders went up and down as he sighed, annoyed with himself. With one last glance, he left to go find Cara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili was with the villagers, giving them last minute pointers when the Mandalorian and Cara headed out. She narrowed her eyes at Mando’s back, not noticing the look someone nearby was giving her. She shook her head and decided that everyone was as ready as they’d ever be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everyone take your spots and wait for the signal once they get back.” She headed for the spot that she had chosen, front of the barricades to the right. It made sense since she had a rifle and Omera had one on the left side of the barricades. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was quiet as they waited, a few people getting antsy but Aili kept her eyes trained on the treeline. Her patience was rewarded when there was an explosion from where the raider camp was. Of course it was a short-lived victory in Aili’s mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess the plan worked,” Aili mumbled to herself when she felt the tremors in the ground. No way that was anything but the AT-ST. She aimed her blaster rifle and hoped the villagers were ready. The children were all huddled into the farthest hut, the door barricaded from the inside, Winta in charge of them all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Through the fog she saw Cara and Mando run down and slide behind the barricade. Cara to the other side and Mando beside Aili. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is it! Once that thing steps into the pond, it’s going down!” Cara shouted loud enough for everyone to hear. Aili only hoped that she was right. The AT-ST broke the tree line, getting closer to the trench they had dug with every step. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just a few more,” Mando said from beside her. Of course that was when the person behind the controls looked down and stopped in its tracks. A bright light flashed and Mando shouted for everyone to get down so it couldn’t see them. Aili squinted as she did as he said knowing that if they aimed the weapons at them, they were done. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They didn’t notice that a few of the farmers hadn’t been able to hide from the line of sight and then there was a shot, one of the huts exploding. It was a warning shot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold your positions!” Cara shouted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was when the raiders came running out of the forest. Aili let out a curse, "Everyone get ready!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A quick mental countdown went through both Cara and Aili’s minds, waiting for the raiders to get close enough but not too close. There. “Open fire!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The AT-ST took a few more shots, not hitting anything but making sparks flash. Mando leaned over so both Cara and AIli could hear. “We gotta get that thing to step forward.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No shit, Mando.” Aili said before looking at Cara. Without words, only a head tilt, they came up with a plan. “Give Cara the pulse rifle. He’ll cover you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are you going?” Mando questioned, confused as to why he would be the only one to cover Cara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll have to go past the barricades once Cara gets over there, otherwise the raiders will overrun us,” Aili quickly explained. She knew they wouldn’t have a choice, the raiders weren’t going to leave it all to the mech. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando sighed before nodding. “Alright. Neither of you do anything stupid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leaving all of that with you, Mando.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh,” Cara groaned before taking the pulse rifle from Mando and running out to get the AT-ST to do what they needed it to. Mando and AIli covered her until she got to the trench, raiders none the wiser. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on Cara.” Aili could see the sparks from the blaster rifle but it wasn’t enough.The AT-ST took a small step forward but by then the raiders were too close and Aili knew they had to move. “It’s now or never, on my call!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One more second. “Now!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone who wasn’t designated as cover fire stayed behind as Aili and her small group with spears rushed forward. She took down several raiders before they could get closer and she heard the others doing the same. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The raiders came out in full numbers, much more than the 15 or 20 that Mando had said earlier and Aili made a note to let him know that. </span>
  <em>
    <span>After</span>
  </em>
  <span> they made it out of this alive. Aili found herself surrounded and she stared each of the raiders up and down in a few seconds. Then she waited for one of them to make the first move. It didn’t take long for one to rush her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She brought a knee up to his stomach and blocked a punch with her arm, ducking under his next one and shooting him in the stomach. She didn’t wait to see him hit the ground before she stopped the next raider from kicking her by grabbing his leg, bringing her elbow down hard on the outside of his thigh. After that it was easy to sweep his other leg out from under him, shooting him before he even landed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next one got lucky, she barely had time to bring her arms up to block a kick to her chest but then a bigger raider rammed into her. Her blaster flew out of her hand and she knew it was going to be only a hand-to-hand fight now. She tucked into a ball and rolled, her cheek getting scratched by something on the ground before she sprung to her knees as the first raider went after her again. She blocked his kick, punching him hard on the other knee. She punched him hard in the abdomen as she got to her feet, the next punch aimed at his chin. He kneeled down in pain and she kicked the back of his knee to keep him down before grabbing him by the shoulders and slamming his head into the ground hard. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The big one came after her again and she ran forward, sliding to her knees and grabbing at his legs, bringing him face down to the ground. She rolled over his body, grabbing his shoulders and slamming his face into the dirt hard enough to kill him. Several more raiders came her way and she pulled her push dagger out of its pocket. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She blocked one raider's punch, spinning to kick another in the abdomen before turning to the first again. She ducked his punch, kicking a third one in the chest to send him to the ground. The first one came back and she blocked his punch with her arm, the fist with the push dagger stabbing him in the chest once before she wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and kicked his knee to send him flipping onto the ground. She leaned down to stab him once more to make sure he stayed down before the second raider came back again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili blocked his punches, bringing her arm up below his to punch him in the face with the hand not holding the dagger. She wrapped her hand around his neck, twisting his arm up and forcing his body to turn around his back to her front and she tossed him to the ground. She stabbed him once, twice in the abdomen and he was out of the fight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A loud crash and a tremor went through the ground and Aili stabbed another raider before turning to see that the AT-ST had finally gone down. A smirk crossed her face as Mando ran forward, a thermal detonator in hand that he tossed into the opening Cara had made in the window. It exploded seconds later and the next thing Aili knew, the remaining raiders were running away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The villagers took a moment to realize what was happening but then there were cheers from everyone. Aili took the chance to head over to the trench and she looked down at Mando and Cara, a smirk on her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, was that a great plan or what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Was</span>
  </em>
  <span> that the plan?” Mando asked, an actual laugh coming from his voice modulator. Aili was almost pleasantly surprised to know he did have a sense of humor underneath all that beskar. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was something,” Cara laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Need a hand getting out of there?” Aili asked, holding a hand out for them without waiting for an answer. Cara went first followed by Mando since he was a little heavier with the armor and Cara had to help otherwise Aili would have ended up in the water instead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna go check on the villagers,” Cara said, handing Mando his pulse rifle. “Sorry, it got a little wet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I figured when you jumped into the trench,” he said as he slung it over his shoulder anyway. Him and Aili watched as Cara walked back towards the village. Well Aili watched, Mando looked over Aili to make sure she wasn’t hurt. It wasn’t because he cared, it was only because he felt like he owed it to the Armorer for sending her with him. He cocked his helmet to the side when he caught sight of a scratch on her face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're hurt," Mando said, reaching out before stopping himself. He brought his hand back down to his side and clenched both of his hands into fists. Aili didn't notice as she brought a hand up to her cheek, her fingers coming into contact with blood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Huh. Hadn't even noticed that." Aili said as she started at the blood. "Not even worth the bacta to be honest, I'll put a bandage on it later."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Are you...did you get hit anywhere else?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't think so, one raider knocked me on my ass but then I knocked him onto his and slammed his face into the ground,” Aili shrugged as she took her hair down from its braid. She didn’t notice the Mandalorian standing still as she shook it out, wincing when she realized that she needed to wash it with the way her scalp ached. She made a note to ask Omera where she could do so in the morning though because she was tired. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to head to bed,” she said looking back up at Mando who twitched when she broke the silence. “You okay in there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay then. Good night?” Aili didn’t mean to use a questioning tone but Mando was acting weird and she didn’t know why. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Night.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili stared at Mando for a long second with narrowed eyes before she gave up and turned to head back to the hut they were sharing. She didn’t know why she was stuck with the Mandalorian when he was so odd. And this was the man who rivaled her in the Guild? At least he was as skilled in shooting as she had assumed he was. She shook her head, wondering why she even cared. She was going to blame the exhaustion. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter Eight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Everyone settles into the village expecting to be there for a while. The Child almost eats a frog, Cara drinks, Aili takes in some sun while watching the Child, and Mando is...well, Mando. Also Cara has questions...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The Mandalorian leaned against the hut he had been sharing with the Child and Aili while Cara sat down, feet up on an upturned bucket. Omera came out, cup of spotchka in hand for Cara that she handed over with a smile on her face. Cara thanked her before continuing to enjoy the peace and quiet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Omera looked over at the Mandalorian, “Can I set you something in the house?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, maybe later, thank you,” Mando said, Cara picking up on his awkward tone a little better than Omera. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s happy here,” Omera said, looking over at the Child who was surrounded by the other children in the village. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He is.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fits right in,” Omera chuckled before she left the two to their thoughts. Cara took a sip of her spochtka before looking over at Mando. She almost couldn’t tell what his gaze was settled on, it was either on the Child playing with the other children, Omera as she walked away, or Aili who had decided to bathe earlier and was now sun drying her hair, splayed out on a crate she had dragged out to the middle of a sunny area. She hadn’t even bothered to put her jacket or shirt back on yet, her torso only covered by a tank top. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara took another sip of her drink before turning to Mando. "So what happens if you take off the helmet? They come after you and kill you?” Cara asked lightly. She didn’t want to piss Mando off before she got any answers from him. She had tried to ask Aili but had just gotten a shrug in return. She still wasn't sure if the other woman was just avoiding the question or if she really didn't know.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No. You just can’t ever put it back on again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's it?" She questioned incredulously. She didn't know very much about Mandalorian culture but if that was the worst that would come of it then why was it an issue? "So you're telling me that there's nothing stopping you from taking it off and settling down with the kid and your girlfriend?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She's not…she's a pain in my ass," Mando turned to stare at Cara. Even with the helmet she could read the annoyance in his body language. But that wasn't all she could read.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ah, I didn't say I was talking about Aili," Cara teased. "Be honest,you want at least one quickie. I can tell you like someone that can kick ass and she’s even more skilled than me. Maybe even more trained than you with the way she knocked you on your ass."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian had no response to Cara's statement knowing that she would probably see through any lie he said. She wasn’t wrong, he would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about Aili like that during the last few weeks. But the mouth she had on her...he shook the thoughts out of his head. No. He wouldn’t think of her that way, not while she was still on his ship. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay then, what about the pretty widow and her cute kid?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara chuckled, “Yeah, I’d stick with the Dragon over a single mom, even one who can use a blaster, any day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did you call her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara froze, she hadn’t meant to say that. “Oh, uh, just a nickname I came up with. She fights like a cornered Krayt Dragon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never seen one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hope you never do, they could swallow you whole in one bite.” Cara shuddered a little. She had never had the misfortune of seeing a live Krayt Dragon but she knew people who had and they still had nightmares about it. That was enough to keep her far away from them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, we raised some hell here a few weeks back. It’s too much action for a backwater town like this. Word travels fast,” Mando said, staring back out at the village. “We might want to cycle the charts and move on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would not wanna be the one who’s gotta tell them,” Cara said, gesturing to the Child and Aili with her cup. Both of them seemed to be enjoying themselves, Aili even playing with the kids when they pulled her into it. Cara thought it was cute that she was good with kids when she grew up the way she did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m leaving them here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, you really think that’s going to fly with her?” Cara questioned, eyebrows raised all the way up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Traveling with me, that’s no life for a kid. He has a better chance at a life here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Aili?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She was tasked with helping me get the Child off Nevarro and she has, even helped make this place safe for him,” Mando explained, staring at the Child who was sitting down and at Aili who was swinging one of the other kids around in a circle, a bright smile on her face. There was a weird feeling in his chest at the sight but he pushed it down as quickly as it came. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do me a favor, make sure I’m not in sight when you tell her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’ll get over it, he’ll get over it too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever you say Mando,” Cara finished her cup and placed it down beside her. She let out a sigh knowing she couldn’t just keep something like this from Aili. She watched as the other woman put the child she was playing with down, saying something to the kids and walking off. Cara waited a couple of beats before getting up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to do a perimeter check, just in case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando let out a noise of agreement before he went into the hut for something. Cara didn’t wait for him to come back out before she was half-jogging to catch up with Aili. “Aili!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Cara, did you need something?” Aili asked, catching her breath from twirling around with the kids. It had been a while since she had done that, not since Shaeli and Jaesa started their training. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara weighed her options, either she kept her mouth shut and risked Aili’s wrath when she found out she knew or she just, “Mando’s planning on leaving.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Aili was surprised but not really. It made sense, they had been there for a few weeks now and it was probably time to move on anyway. “When does he want to leave? I can be ready to go in an hour or two.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s planning on leaving you and the kid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili stared at Cara in surprise, mouth falling open a little and she was at a loss for words. But after the shock came the burning anger that Mando didn’t even have the balls to tell her this to her face. “Excuse me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara winced as she watched Aili stalk away and she only hoped that she had done the right thing. There was just something that told her it wouldn’t be right to leave her on Sorgan. With the small hope that Aili wouldn’t kill the Mandalorian in broad daylight, Cara turned to go around the village perimeter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando!” Aili shouted across the village, not even trying to hide her anger. She spotted him with Omera and stalked over, barely even noticing that the other woman had been about to remove his helmet. “Sorry, I need to talk to him real quick.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t wait for either of them to speak before she shoved him further towards the tall grass. “Why did Cara just tell me that you’re planning on ditching me and the kid here?” Aili growled out, barely restraining herself from lashing out at Mando. He was lucky that she didn’t have any weapons on her at the moment other than her fists. But she did know all of the areas not covered by armor that she could make </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurt</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s safe here,” Mando reasoned, still a little shaken that he had almost let Omera remove his helmet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leave the kid here, fine. Stay here with Omera if you want, but I </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> to get back to Nevarro.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a bounty on you too, do you really think they’ll just let you back without another shootout?” Mando questioned, making a note to never tell Cara anything like this again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t care.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you have on Nevarro that’s so important? Your ship?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck you, Mando. You try to leave me here and I’ll remove your head from your body and take your helmet as a trophy.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian had to pause at the venom in her voice before he spoke, stumbling a little over his words. “The Covert would go after you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your Armorer owes me a debt, I would cash it in. Big Blue didn’t seem to like you anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Paz Vizsla,” Mando scoffed. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ori'buyce, kih'kovid.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t give a kriff if he has bantha shit for brains in that helmet. You are not leaving me here," Aili said with a finality in her voice before she turned on her heel to stalk away from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Atin shabuir,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Mando said under his breath. Aili paused before spinning around to face him with a glare on her face. That seemed to be her default face around him unless he had the Child in his arms. Even sharing living quarters for the past few weeks hadn’t helped them not be at each other’s throats more often than not so they usually didn’t spend time around each other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you wanna say that to my face?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know Mando’a?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A bit, enough to call you a </span>
  <em>
    <span>sheb’urcyin</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando had to take in a breath before speaking again. "Who taught you?” He hadn’t known hearing someone outside of the Covert speaking Mando’a would sound so good. Even if it was Aili who was clearly still a pain in his ass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"None of your business," Aili said shortly before pointing a finger at his chest. "You do not get to leave me here."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was about to reply when a loud blaster shot rang throughout the village and without thinking he pulled Aili behind him, pulling out his blaster at the same time. “The Child!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili didn’t have to be told twice even if she was peeved that Mando thought he had to protect her. She ran over to where the children were huddling and panicked until Winta called her name. The girl held the Child out for Aili to take and she thanked her while checking over Little Green. He looked no worse for wear, a smudge of dirt on his robe probably from being pushed down to protect him from the blaster shot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando and Cara came back from the woods and Aili could see the stiffness in their shoulders. She walked over to them, Child in her arms. “What is it?” she asked as soon as she met them in the middle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They know he’s here, tracking fobs are still working,” Mando said, shoulders tense and voice hard behind the modulator. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a quiet curse, “Kriff, he can’t stay here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, we need to leave as soon as possible.” With that they took off for the huts they had been staying in and quickly packed up everything they had brought from the Razor Crest. It wasn’t actually a lot, seemed like less than when they had first arrived somehow but Aili wasn’t about to complain. Mando tried to get Aili to put the Child down or at least give him to someone else while they packed but she refused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t need two hands to pack, Mando. It doesn’t have to be pretty right now it just needs to get done fast.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They got everything loaded up fast while Mando decided they weren’t going to go through the town near where he had parked the Crest. It was safer, just in case there were other bounty hunters hiding around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two sure you don’t want an escort?” Cara asked, her bag over her shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am the escort,” Aili laughed, raising a brow in challenge. Cara shook her head at the shorter woman, an easy laugh coming out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah I guess you are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I appreciate the offer, but we’re gonna bypass the town completely,” Mando said, placing another container on the lift. “Hopefully no firefights.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gonna head straight for the Crest.” Aili added, shrugging her shoulders. It was the best course of action and they all knew it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then, until our paths cross,” Cara held a hand out for Mando to take.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Until our paths cross.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gave him a nod and a smile before letting go, turning to Aili with the same offer. Aili was quick to take the hand, “Until our paths cross but until that time comes…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keep it quick, quiet, and hope nobody will notice.” Cara finished, laughing before letting go and walking away, going in the direction of the town. She at least still had that option unlike their odd trio. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a huff of laughter before she picked the Child up, hopped onto the lift and placed him on her lap. He looked up at her and let out a sad sound. She ran a finger down his nose, “I know buddy, I liked it here too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Winta suddenly ran up and looked at Aili before pulling the Child into a hug, pulling at Aili’s heart strings. The girl wiped away a few tears before running back to her mom’s side. Mando tossed one last bag onto the lift before sitting down at the edge beside Aili, a bag in between them. The lift started to move and with one last wave and a nod from Mando, they left peace and quiet behind.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Mando'a translations<br/>Ori'buyce, kih'kovid: All helmet, no head<br/>Atin shabuir: Stubborn "jerk" but much stronger insult, so I'm going with "stubborn ass"<br/>sheb’urcyin: ass-kisser</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter Nine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After a dogfight, the Mandalorian, Aili, and the Child take a pit stop on Tatooine where Mando finds them a job teaming up with a wannabe Guild member. Aili thinks Mando is hilarious when she finds out who they’re going after but she wouldn’t miss out on this job for anything now. Even if their “partner” is as big an idiot as Mando</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"Move!" Aili shoved the Mandalorian as hard as she could before grabbing the main piloting controls from him. He wasn't the worst pilot but if they wanted to make it out of this dogfight in one piece, they'd need a little more finesse. He had already let the other bounty hunter land a hit on one of the engines. She shook her head in exasperation when Mando didn't move from the pilot seat so she stood in the small space between his seat and the controls. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I can bring you in warm or I can bring you in cold," the hunter said over the comm and Aili rolled her eyes at the cliche saying. She didn't even bother saying anything, pulling the controls hard to the side to avoid another shot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's my line." Mando said from behind her and Aili let out an irritated sound. Was that really what he was annoyed about right now? It didn’t matter though, she was too busy calculating a way to get rid of the other hunter. It took another half a second before she knew what to do about him but she wasn't in a chair right now because Mando didn’t seem to want to move.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do me a favor, </span>
  <em>
    <span>di’kut</span>
  </em>
  <span>, don't let me go flying into the ceiling." She didn't give Mando a chance to ask what she meant before she started to pull the ship into a barrel roll in order to land in the space behind the other hunter's ship. She heard Mando let out a noise of surprise when the flip started and he moved forward to place one hand on her waist to keep her from losing her balance, his other hand coming to rest against the small of her back to keep her from moving backwards. She blamed the way her stomach lurched on the barrel roll itself because obviously that’s what it was that caused it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thanks." She said, before aiming at the other ship and firing once it was in the sights. She smirked as she heard the man scream before the ship exploded. "And that's how you do that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn't get more time to gloat when the ship gave a sudden lurch and she fell backwards onto the Mandalorian's lap. His one hand was still on her waist while the other one slipped from her back to the other side of her waist. Aili's side involuntarily twitched at the way his hand moved but she decidedly ignored this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's the engine." She scrambled out of the Mandalorian’s hold and got back to her own seat to check over the nav panels. She had absolutely no idea where they were. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando took a moment, flexing his hands before shaking his head and checking over his own panels, "We're losing fuel." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well that’s just great,” Aili said, finally figuring out what the nearest planet to them was. Thankfully it was a useful one. “Tatooine is our best bet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was when the engine powered down and everything shut off, including the lights. The Child let out an excited coo and Aili wondered how he could find this fun. Then again her idea of fun as a kid used to be getting a new blaster so maybe she wasn’t the best judge. Mando let out a sigh and got up to power the engine back up, though it wouldn't last much longer. They were right by Tatooine like Aili said and Mando made for it, switching on the radio as he did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"This is Mos Eisley Tower, we are tracking you. Head for bay three-five. Peli Motto is the mechanic there, over." The tower operator’s bored voice sounded throughout the cabin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Copy that," Aili said, giving Mando the chance to put all of his focus on getting them through the atmo without killing them all. "Locked in for three-five."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He brought them in as smoothly as possible, Aili would give him a little credit for that considering the engines had both taken hits. She wasn’t going to do so out loud though, he still hadn’t thanked her for fixing the gen room. She had nightmares about the crossed wiring and still wondered how it hadn’t blown up earlier. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili winced as she heard the creaking and groaning as the landing gear came out. Yeah that, that wasn’t good. “Here’s hoping it’s not too expensive,” Aili said as they both got up from their seats. A quiet coo distracted Mando before he could reply and Aili let out a quiet chuckle as she looked down at the Child whose eyes were drooping closed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili watched as Mando laid the Child down in the cot, a small smile on her face. He had gotten himself so excited earlier that now he had tired himself out. They headed down to the gangway and that's when Mando decided to shoot at the ground in front of the small droids.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What the kriff, Mando?" Aili exclaimed, her immediate reaction being to reach over and force his blaster arm down to his side. "It's just a pit droid!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey! You damage one of my droids and I'll make you pay for it!" The mechanic, Peli, came out shouting and Aili knew she’d have to turn up the charm now. If there was one person you didn’t want to piss off, it was the one who was going to be fixing your ship. Mando was lucky last time when she helped fix the gen room because she was also stuck on the ship so no matter how much he pissed her off, she wouldn’t cross any wires. Not if she wanted to stay alive that is. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili turned to the mechanic, Peli, and gave her an apologetic smile. The one that worked on everyone that she had ever met.  "Sorry about him."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Keep them away from my ship," Mando said, walking the rest of the way down the gangway with Aili behind him. She felt her eye twitch in annoyance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Really</span>
  </em>
  <span> sorry about him,” Aili added, subtly reaching over and pinching him </span>
  <em>
    <span>hard </span>
  </em>
  <span>through the arm of the suit he wore. He flinched and looked down at her, she could read the irritation in his body but she didn’t care. She shook her head at him, her brow furrowed in annoyance, before turning back to the mechanic with another smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah well let me take a look at your ship. See if that’s a good idea." Peli walked over to the Crest, banging on one section before she looked up and pulled out a scanner. “You’ve got a lot of carbon scoring up top. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were in a shootout.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were, some idiot bounty hunter got our ship confused with another. Took us almost half a parsec to lose him,” Aili said, making sure to sound as exasperated as possible. The mechanic turned to look at her, sizing her up almost to see if she was lying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh,” Peli finally shrugged, turning back to the ship. “I’m gonna have to rotate that. You’ve got a fuel leak! This is a mess, I’m surprised you could even land!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were honestly just glad to break atmo without anything catching on fire.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She walked away from the ship and looked at them with pursed lips, “This is gonna set you two back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got 500 Imperial credits,” Mando said, pulling the credits out as he did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I have 500 Calamari Flan,” Aili added as she pulled her credits out as well, already internally wincing at the fact that she was having to dip into the nest egg she had saved up. But it wasn’t like they had been able to take any jobs since leaving Nevarro, the villagers on Sorgan had already been kind enough to not charge them anything for their room and board. Had said taking care of the raiders was enough payment for the three of them to stay for weeks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That should cover the hangar and the fuel leak,” Peli said as she took both of their payments. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll get you your money.” Mando said shortly. Although Aili thought she heard a hint of embarrassment in his tone. She couldn’t blame him, even when times were rough she always had enough to get her ship fixed when it needed to be. Right now though she was trying to keep a persona on and since she was the only one who had a visible expression, it all fell on her to sell the act. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heard that one before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just remember-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She gets it Mando, no droids. Why don’t you head out and I’ll catch up with you at the cantina in a few?” Aili ordered more than asked while still keeping her voice even. Mando stared down at her for a long moment before nodding and turning to leave. She knew he’d have no option other than the cantina because there was nowhere else to ask around for a job on the planet anyway. She watched as he left before turning to face Peli again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m really sorry about him, it’s been...a very long day,” Aili said, brow a little furrowed as she spoke to Peli. Hopefully she wasn’t selling it too hard but she couldn’t be bothered to really try at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With the amount of damage you took, I can imagine.” Peli said, brow still raised in annoyance. She still thought she wouldn’t be getting paid for her work and Aili couldn’t blame her. They had barely given her enough to cover the hangar and one of the multiple repairs they needed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We promise to pay you, this is Tatooine. There’s always some idiot with a job.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Been here often?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“More times than I’ve wanted.” Aili let out a short laugh with no actual humor behind it. “I should go catch up with him, make sure he doesn’t pick a crap job.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good luck with that, he doesn’t seem like the brightest star in the galaxy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me something I don’t know.” Aili turned to leave when she paused at the thought of the sleeping Child on the ship. Maybe she should tell the woman about him, but she didn’t know how far information on his bounty had travelled. She wrestled with herself for a moment before turning back to face Peli.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, also I just want to let you know that we have a child on the ship, but he’s sleeping right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You and the Mandalorian have a child?” Peli asked, voice incredulous at the thought. She had noticed the way the other woman had seemed to barely tolerate the Mandalorian and vice versa. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili couldn’t stop the full body shudder that went through her at the mere thought of not only having a child but having one with the Mandalorian. “Oh Maker no! No, ew, long story. But he’s sleeping and I’d rather not take a baby to a cantina anyway so…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll watch him if he wakes up but it’ll cost extra if he’s fussy, I’m not a babysitter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, anything I can bring back from the cantina for you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not this time. Go ahead and catch up to that Mando before he pisses anyone else off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili gave Peli one more smile and nod before turning to head out the same way that Mando had. Hopefully he hadn’t already found a job without her. She didn’t want to get stuck with anything barely worth it or even something that would be impossible to manage. Not that there was a lot she couldn’t handle but she still wasn’t sure about Mando. She had yet to really see him in a fight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took a while to get to the cantina as it was nowhere near Peli’s bay. Aili let out another annoyed sigh, really hoping that Mando hadn’t found a job yet without her. She felt like she needed to vet anything he found because he clearly didn’t know how to pick his battles. First he chose to take on an Imp job for beskar (which she understood, beskar belonged to Mandalorians to do with as they saw fit) but then he hadn’t been able to tell that the job on Sorgan would actually be worth it until he met an attractive, single widow who looked at him like he hung the sun in the sky. She got it, the idea of being able to settle down was always on her mind, but it wasn’t feasible at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kriff!” Aili cursed as she narrowly avoided bumping straight into a beskar covered chest. She hadn’t even noticed he was there, so lost in her thoughts about how dumb he was. She glared up at the Mandalorian, “I said I’d meet you inside.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have a job already,” he said, walking back towards Peli’s hangar before Aili could say anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh we do? How much?” Aili asked, keeping up with him easily, but she was a little impressed that he had found a job so quickly. People were usually wary around obvious bounty hunters and Mando was obviously one with all that hard, shiny armor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“More than enough. Dumb kid named Toro Calican wants help taking down Fennec Shand in the Dune Sea so he can join the Guild.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Laughter bubbled up and escaped Aili’s mouth before she could stop herself. “Sorry, did you just say Fennec Shand? The mercenary slash assassin?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” Mando paused before his helmet tilted to the side, mistaking her laughter for nervousness,  “You don’t have to come with us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I’m going with you, if only to see you get your ass handed to you again,” Aili laughed again, knowing that she wouldn’t miss this job for anything in the galaxy. “How are we splitting the pay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Says he’ll give us all of it. Just needs it done to get into the Guild,” Mando explained as they kept walking back to the hangar. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this kid stupid or what?” Aili asked, taken aback because she just knew that any bounty on Fennec Shand had to be high. Like, afford a brand new ship money. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He broke the tracking fob rather than giving it to me, so yes. But he’s going to meet us in half an hour with speeder bikes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, actually is this kid related to you? Because that’s some top class stupidity,” Aili said, smirk on her face when Mando paused for about half a second before continuing to walk, a little faster now so Aili had to almost jog to keep up with him. She supposed she deserved that for her comment but now he was just using her short legs against her. They made it back to Peli’s hangar faster than it took to get to the cantina, mainly because of the Mandalorian’s pace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walked straight for the ship while Aili figured she’d wait for him to grab his gear before she went for hers. She had barely sat down on an empty fuel drum when he stalked back out and headed for one of the pit droids. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” He shouted, causing the pit droid to let out a scared sound before collapsing onto itself. “Where is he?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando, stop scaring the droids!” Aili didn’t know what his problem with droids was and frankly she didn’t care. But he needed to stop scaring them otherwise she was going to hit him. The sound of the Child crying took her attention away from Mando and she watched as Peli came forward with the Child in her arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh you woke it up! Do you have any idea how long it took for me to get him to sleep?” Peli complained as she tried to bounce the Child a little to calm him down. Aili gave Mando a side glare since she knew it was his shouting that had scared Little Green. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give him to me,” Mando demanded, pointing a finger at Peli. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’ll give him to her because she has a head on her shoulders,” Peli said, handing Aili the Child. “She at least let me know he was still on the ship rather than just walking out without saying anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili took the Child in her arms, giving him a smile as he let out a quiet sniffle. She ran a finger down his nose, her smile getting a little bigger when he stopped crying and a small smile appeared on his face. No one saw the look Mando was giving her behind his helmet before he shook his thoughts away and turned back to Peli. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Got started on the repairs, fixed the fuel leak. Everything else is still a mess except for the generator room. Whoever fixed that knew what they were doing,” Peli sounded a little impressed and Aili smiled over at the mechanic. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you,” Aili said, glad that </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone </span>
  </em>
  <span>appreciated the hard work she had put into fixing the mess Mando had called a working gen room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ah I knew it wasn't Mando who did that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I could have,” Mando said, clearly peeved with the two woman talking about him like he wasn’t even there. They both turned to look at him, Aili with one brow raised because she knew how useless he had been the whole time she was fixing his mess. She couldn’t see as he flushed under her stare but he didn’t try to say anything else. Smart move.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peli looked him up and down. "Sure you could. There were a couple of setbacks I wanted to talk to you about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili watched as Mando headed back up the gangway and grabbed his pack. She went up as well once he was back down and she grabbed her own small go-bag. It only had weapons she considered essential and a couple of ration bars along with a waterskin that she always kept ready to go. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I figured you two would be good for the money since you’ve got this little one to feed,” Peli said, nodding her head towards the Child that Aili was still holding. The Mandalorian stared at Peli silently before tilting his helmet towards her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” was all he said before walking away just as quickly as he had walked in again. Aili watched him walk away </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A brief moment of manners and then he just...screws it all up,” Aili mumbled under her breath as she walked after him, nodding for Peli to come with her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you got a job?” Peli asked, following after the two of them. “‘Cause you know it costs a lot to keep these droids up and running.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We did and I know, we should be back soon. Seems like an easy enough job to me,” Aili said as she and Peli stepped back out into Tatooine where Mando was waiting with the dumb kid that they had partnered with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Check it out, Mando. Not too shabby, huh?” Aili stood back with Peli as she looked the young man up and down. He seemed too...clean to be a bounty hunter but there was something else about him that she didn’t like. He seemed too eager and that was dangerous when it came to high paying bounties. She turned her attention over to where Mando was inspecting their speeder bike but he didn’t seem impressed when he looked back up at the wannabe bounty hunter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you expect? This isn’t Corellia.” Toro shrugged before turning to look back at Peli and Aili, only recognizing Peli. He gave the Child a confused look before he looked up and Aili. “This your wife and...kid?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili gave him a blank stare knowing that she had not just heard him refer to her as Mando’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>wife</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “Call me that again and I’ll make sure you never join the Guild.” She handed the Child over to Peli before taking a step towards the speeder bike she was obviously going to share with Mando and tying her own pack down. Mando stood beside her stiffly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really and how will you do that? Get your husband to kill me for you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you like breathing?” Aili asked, lunging forward to attack the boy but Mando wrapped a hand around her upper arm to stop her. She still enjoyed the way the little boy flinched despite her not getting anywhere near him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enough, get on the speeder,” Mando said, looking down at Aili before looking over at Toro and nodding for him to do the same. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Aili said after giving Toro one last hard look. She got up on the speeder, Mando getting on behind her and reaching forward to take the handles before she even had a chance to reach for them. She rolled her eyes and scooted as far up as she could to put distance between her and Mando. She wouldn’t fall off as long as he kept the bike steady which if he knew what was good for him, he would. Then they were off for the Dune Sea. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter Ten</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mando, Aili, and Toro head out to find Fennec Shand in the middle of the Dune Sea. But deserts can make temperatures rise and fall as quickly as Tatooine’s twin suns.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The working title for this chapter was "Taking down Fennec Shand with two-halves of a whole idiot"</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mando slowed the bike he was sharing with Aili down to a stop and Toro did the same, tossing a look of confusion in their direction. "What's wrong?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Banthas up ahead," Aili said, nodding towards the animals in the distance. She knew that when you’re on the Dune Sea, that where there are Banthas…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And? It's just a bunch of overgrown animals."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Take a closer look," Mando said as he placed his feet down on the sand beneath them. Aili took the chance to get off the bike in order to stretch her legs. She might be short but her legs still hurt after sitting so far up in the seat for what felt like hours.Toro took out a fancy pair of binocs and Aili had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Of course he would spend credits on useless shit but not on better speeders. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tusken raiders, I heard the locals talking about this filth." Toro finally said, still staring into the binocs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I only see one piece of filth here,” Aili mumbled to herself, almost too low for Mando to hear her. She started stretching, leaning over to place her hands around one ankle and holding the pose. She knew they’d have to be on the speeders for at least another hour or two and she really didn’t want to be sore when they had to take on Shand because she doubted the assassin would go down without a fight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando shook his head in amusement before averting his gaze as Aili stretched. It took more willpower than he’d like to admit to keep his gaze on the horizon. "Tuskens think they're the locals.” There, speaking to Toro was safe, would keep his mind off Aili and stretching. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Everyone else is just trespassing." Aili said as saw movement out of the corner of her eye and she smirked knowing that Toro wasn't paying attention to his surroundings at all.  She switched over to the other side, holding the pose again. Her hands were nowhere near her weapons so she didn’t come off as a threat at all at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If they know what's good for them, they'll stay away,” Toro said, every bit as cocky as Aili knew he would be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her even as Mando spoke again. "Yeah? Why don't you tell them that yourself?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toro flinched and turned, finally seeing the Tuskens that had come up to them. Aili stood up, still keeping herself as non-threatening as possible as Mando went over to talk to them. She watched as he used their sign language, impressed that he even knew it though she supposed it made sense from a bounty hunter standpoint. She knew it too after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Toro asked, confused by Mando’s hand signs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s negotiating,” Aili said, giving Toro an unimpressed look. He really needed to keep his mouth shut before he said something stupid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Tusken in charge made a few signs back to Mando and Aili really hoped that he knew what he was doing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need passage across their land,” Mando said before holding out a hand towards Toro. “Let me see the binocs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili couldn’t help the smirk when Toro did as Mando said before he started sputtering in shock as they were tossed over to the Tuskens. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Those were brand new!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not anymore,” Aili said, getting back up on the speeder bike. This time when Mando sat behind her she didn’t move quite as far up, her legs still feeling a little cramped. He took off before Toro even had the chance to get back on his own bike. Aili was right about how long they’d be on the bikes again but then she finally saw something in the distance. Too close for her liking and she quickly tapped Mando on the knee. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He must have seen what she saw because he gestured for Toro to stop his bike. “Get down,” he said, getting off the bike quickly to let Aili off as quick as she could as well. Toro let out a sound of confusion before following their lead and propping himself up against the dune before them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you see?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dewback, looks like the rider’s still attached. Is that the target?” Toro asked, looking over at Aili and Mando in confusion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando shook his head. “I don’t know, I’ll go. Cover me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For sure,” Toro said, pulling out his blaster. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I meant her,” Mando said shortly. “You just stay down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah, that makes more sense,” Toro said, putting his blaster away again. Aili counted to ten quickly before she strangled him herself. She took out her blaster to give cover fire if Mando needed it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili watched the horizon as Mando made his way down to the dewback, she couldn’t see anything other than sand but that didn’t mean much. Not when their target was an assassin who wouldn’t have any problem finding the best place to hide out. She let her gaze drop back down once Mando was hidden by the dewback, watching as he flipped the body over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it her? Is she dead?” Toro called out and it took everything in Aili to not tell him to shut up. If Fennec Shand was anywhere near them he was giving away their position. It would be even worse if the body </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> Shand, pretending to be dead just waiting for them to get close. All it would take was her hearing an idiot asking stupid questions to know they were easy marks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s another bounty hunter,” Mando called back. Aili let out a quiet sigh of relief now that she knew it wasn’t Shand lying in wait. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I hope you don’t plan on keeping all that stuff! Can I at least have that blaster?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili kept quiet as Mando reached for something on the dead hunter’s belt before his head snapped up and he stood, getting ready to rejoin them. “Get down!” was all he had the chance to say before he was shot from the distance. The force from the blast caused him to hit the ground but he was quick to get back to his feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Aili hissed out before shouting. “Mando, run! She’s too far out, I can’t cover you!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had almost made it back when there was another shot and he went over the dune but at least he was on their side again. Hidden by the sand and away from Fennec’s view. Aili knew it didn’t matter, she had all the information she needed to know about at least Mando now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sniper bolt.” Mando said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d say an MK-modified rifle at that. You good by the way?” Aili asked, wishing that she had thought to bring her rifle. Stupid mistake on her part. Especially now that she knew Shand had a sniper rifle which she should have expected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,hit me in the beskar and at this range…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beskar holds up.” Aili tilted her head in a side nod. That was the good thing about beskar, it deflected nearly everything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, you’re the only one with beskar.” Toro said, voice getting a little high pitched. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, kid, I have a beskar cuirass on.” Aili wondered if it was too late to just tell him to leave and they would handle this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, but then what do we do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you see where the shots came from?” Mando questioned, looking at Toro and waiting to see if the kid had been paying attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, from that ridge.” Toro said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suggest we wait until nightfall, she’s got the high ground and it would take her less than ten seconds to drop us all,” Aili said, already lowering herself down so Fennec wouldn’t be able to aim for her. That was the only good thing about sand dunes, they were easy to hide behind. “She’ll know to aim for a weak point on Mando now that she knows he has beskar armor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know that she knows?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because he didn’t go down, shots glanced off him like nothing. Kind of hard to mistake it especially if you’ve been around the galaxy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what if she escapes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like she said, she has the high ground. She’ll wait for us to make the first move.” Mando said, tapping Aili on the shoulder and nodding over towards the bikes. “We’re gonna rest, take the first watch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And stay low,” Aili added just in case it hadn’t been obvious. She joined Mando at the bike they had been sharing and he gestured for her to sit on the bike seat while he sat on the ground to lean against it. She wasn’t about to turn down the chance to sit on something other than sand and she gave the Mandalorian a nod. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili slept for maybe a couple of hours before she woke up as the suns were setting. She, once again, couldn't tell if Mando was awake or asleep so she stayed up on the bike just in case. She wasn't a complete asshole so she wouldn't purposely jostle the speeder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once the suns were down, Toro turned to look back at the two of them and noticed that only Aili was awake. “Alright, Mando, time to ride. Suns are down. Look at him, asleep on the job like an old man.” Toro looked to Aili when Mando didn’t so much as move, “Come on, wake him up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do it yourself,” Aili said as she climbed off the bike and got her pack ready to go. She knew Mando was probably fucking with the kid by this point. It’s what she would do to an overeager wannabe bounty hunter if no one could see her face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you his wife?” Toro actually sounded like he believed that and Aili felt her eye twitch. She wasn’t sure what was giving Toro the idea that they were together, she had purposely sat so far away from Mando on the speeder bike that any farther and she would have fallen off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You call me that one more time and you won’t have to worry about Fennec Shand shooting you from far away because I will from up close.” She smirked a little when Toro took a step back at the look on her face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two done?” Mando said, getting up as he spoke. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, just friendly teasing to get you up,” Toro stuttered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, totally just teasing,” Aili said, still staring at Toro with a blank stare. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get on your bike, ride as fast as you can to those rocks.” Mando said, pulling something out of his pack while Aili sat back down on the speeder. She caught sight of what he took out and chose to sit behind him this time planning to use him as a buffer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toro scoffed even as he listened to Mando’s instructions, “That’s the plan? She’ll shoot us right off the bikes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No she won’t,” Aili said as Mando tossed one of the flash charges over to Toro.“She can’t shoot what she can’t see. We alternate the shots-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Combined with our speed and she doesn’t stand a chance,” Mando finished explaining. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two sure you’re not…?” Toro trailed off, looking at them with a raised eyebrow. They finished each other’s thoughts a little too easily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I kriffin’ swear if I wasn’t on this bike right now,” Aili muttered to herself, her hands clenching around a handful of Mando’s cape since they were going to have to go fast. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, what do you mean ‘a chance’?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, you wanted this. Get ready.” Mando took off at a faster speed than they had travelling before and Aili was so glad that she had pulled her hair up earlier. Toro was right behind them and Aili started to count down from five when they got closer to the rocks. By now Fennec had to be lining up a shot. Mando must have thought the same because he raised his flash charge and set it off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It would have been a great plan but there was a shot that landed between the two bikes not even two seconds later. Aili cursed behind Mando, figuring that Shand must have taken off her scope and was only using the one on her sniper rifle which wouldn’t be affected by the flash charges. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now!” Mando shouted and Toro set off his own flash charge at the same time there was another sniper bolt that just missed them. They had almost made it to the rocks, Toro setting off his second charge when Fennec landed a shot on the bike Mando and Aili were on, sending them into the sand with their bike now out of commission. Mando propped himself up just enough to set off his second charge to give Toro the chance to make it up to the rocks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili didn’t wait to see if he made it before she took off for the rocks as fast as she could, ignoring Mando calling out for her to stop. She heard a sniper bolt hit beskar but knew Mando would be fine. It was beskar. She made it there just in time to see Fennec knock Toro down and when he didn’t get back up, groaning about his hand or something, Aili ran up and aimed a kick for Fennec’s back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fennec dropped into a roll before springing back to her feet. She stared at Aili for a moment before throwing a kick out but Aili was quick to stop the other woman’s leg, pushing it down before tossing out her own kick. Fennec let it hit, bringing a fist up to punch Aili in the side but that just made her let out a grunt. Aili threw her own punch at Fennec, hitting the woman in the face once before having to dodge another kick. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh you’re amazing,” Fennec said, blocking another punch from Aili. “No way you’re just a bounty hunter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fennec threw another punch that Aili slapped away before trying to toss an elbow to Fennec’s face but the older woman ducked under. Aili spun with the momentum of her swing and dropped into a roll to miss another punch. As soon as she was back up, Fennec went after her but Aili grabbed her around the neck and brought a knee up to hit Fennec in the stomach with as much force as she could. Fennec doubled over and Aili took the chance to end the fight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re good too, just not good enough.” Aili said before using the hands she had around the back of Fennec’s neck to pull herself up to flip them both over and onto the ground. She quickly straddled the older woman's legs, grabbing her arms and pulling them towards her to incapacitate her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice distraction.” Mando said from on top of a nearby rock. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really, a distraction?” Aili asked, catching the stun cuffs that Mando tossed her way. She had definitely done more than simply distract Fennec Shand. She pulled Fennec into a sitting position, cuffing her with her hands in front of her. She wasn’t cruel enough to make Fennec spend potentially hours with her hands cuffed behind her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I meant him.” Mando nodded towards Toro who was staring stupidly at Aili and Fennec. “Why don’t you go find your blaster, kid?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fennec looked from Aili to Mando with a smirk on her face. “A Mandalorian and a Dragon walk into a cantina...it’s been a long time since I’ve seen either of your kind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando tilted his helmet to the side. Now two people had referred to Aili as a dragon and something told him it was with a capital D. He didn’t know what it meant and he didn’t think Aili would be very forthcoming if he were to ask. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fennec’s smirk got wider when she saw Aili tense up from the corner of her eye. “Tell me, have you two ever been to Nevarro? Heard things didn’t go so well there but looks like you two got off easy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah well you won’t have to worry about making it to Nevarro, or anywhere else, once we turn you in,” Toro said, placing his blaster back into his holster. “But you know, I should thank you. You’re my big ticket into the Guild.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Am I?” Fennec asked, smirk still in place even as Mando led her away. They walked down the rocks in silence and Aili sighed when they got to the bottom. She had almost forgotten about the bike. “Uh-oh, there’s four of us and only one speeder. Guess two of us are gonna have to walk.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m partial to dragging both you and Toro back,” Aili shrugged as she watched Mando drop Fennec down onto a rock. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did I do? At least I got here with a speeder!” Toro exclaimed, throwing his hands out to the side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili stared at him with a harsh glare, “Oh you know what you did.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enough. I need you,” Mando pointed at Toro so he knew he was talking to him. “To go back to find that dewback we saw.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And leave you two here with my bounty and my ride? I don’t think so,” Toro said, causing Mando to stare at him silently. Aili felt her eye twitch again and she contemplated knocking out both of the men and taking Fennec in herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando, just use your stupid HUD to find the stupid dewback and get back here so we can leave this Maker-forsaken planet,” Aili growled out. She was exhausted now, the earlier nap hadn’t been enough nor had it been very comfortable. And then she had to take down Fennec Shand in hand-to-hand combat so now her side was aching from the punches. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine. Don’t let her get near the bike and try not to kill either of them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Aili muttered under her breath as Mando started to walk away. She missed the calculating look that Fennec gave all three of them as did Toro. Slowly a smirk crossed the assassin’s face as she started to come up with a plan.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter Eleven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Fennec Shand tries to free herself by talking to Toro, Aili tries to get her to shut up, Mando is taking forever to get back. The suns start rising which is when everything goes sideways for everyone</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Double update today because I'm tired of Tatooine and the prison break is where things get fun anyway</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The suns were beginning to rise and Aili was now crossing into the dangerous territory of both exhaustion and hunger, having not slept while waiting for Mando to get back. The first day was always the worst even with her training. People had learned to leave her alone but Toro and Fennec didn’t have that luxury right now. She wondered what the kriff was taking Mando so long because surely the dewback hadn’t made it that far from where they’d last seen it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So tell me, how do a Dragon and a Mandalorian even start working together?” Fennec asked, faux curiosity tingeing her voice. A devious smile appeared on her face. “Or does he not know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s none of your business,” Aili replied, arms crossed even as she stood in a ready stance just in case Fennec tried to make a run for it. Toro looked between the two women in confusion from his seat on his speeder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you calling her a dragon?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because kid-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up before I make you shut up. Permanently.” Aili threatened, leveling an even glare towards Fennec. The assassin held her cuffed hands up in surrender. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, there’s still time for me to make my rendezvous at Mos Espa. Help me get there and I can pay you all double the price on my head.” Fennec offered and even though Aili wondered if she was lying, a woman like Fennec Shand didn’t lie about credits. She just had to hope that Toro didn't fall for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t care about the money,” Toro said, looking away and watching as the suns kept rising. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So these two are keeping all of the money?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only because I’m letting them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fennec let out a scoff of laughter, “Are you sure about that? Mando seemed like he was calling all the shots and now the Dragon over here is doing it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah well </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> hired </span>
  <em>
    <span>them</span>
  </em>
  <span>. This is my job.” Toro said and Aili gave him a side glance, seeing that Fennec was trying and succeeding in getting a rise out of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> talk to her?” Aili suggested. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toro didn’t listen to Aili as he kept talking. “Bringing you in will make me a full member of the Bounty Hunter’s Guild.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kid, you already have something worth far greater in value in hand, you just don’t see it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili tensed up, unsure exactly what Fennec was going to mention. Her hand slowly moved down to her holster as she stared at the assassin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The armor. The Mandalorian’s full set and her cuirass are worth more than me alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s not stupid though, or do you not remember how quickly I knocked </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>on your ass? In the dark.” Aili raised a brow at Fennec, daring her to say something. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toro let out a scoff, “I still don’t care about the money.” And then he went back to staring at the suns as Fennec sagged a little against the rocks before she straightened up again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, but what about your reputation? A Mandalorian shot up the Guild on Nevarro, stole a high value target, took their best bounty hunter with him, and went rogue.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toro stared at Fennec for longer than Aili was comfortable with before he glanced at her for half a second. He looked back towards the horizon again. "I know what you're trying to do and it won't work," Toro finally said. Aili relaxed her stance, hand moving away from her holster.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thought everything was over and done with now. Fennec had given up and was leaning against the rocks with resignation on her face. Probably wondering how she had been unlucky enough to have a Mandalorian team up with a Dragon. It was about as unlikely as a Jedi and a Mandalorian teaming up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least Aili thought she was in the clear until she saw Toro move. “Toro, what are you doing?” She asked as Toro got down from his speeder and stood next to her. He gave her a glance from the corner of his eye before moving faster than she could react. His blaster slammed down hard on her head, harder than she thought he could hit, and she fell to the ground soon after. Her eyes fluttered open and closed in slow blinks but she heard the sound of a blaster going off and she wondered if she was next. That would be a terrible way to go out, shot while unconscious by someone who wasn’t even Guild yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt Toro put cuffs around her wrists before lifting her up and placing her on the speeder, sitting behind her to hold her up. She was out before he even started to head back to Tatooine. Her last thought was that she knew she should have told Mando this job was a terrible idea. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>*Run away to a place where you can breathe*</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian let out a curse when he got back to the rocks and didn't see a speeder bike. There was also a body and his mind went blank, forgetting the differences between what Aili and Fennec were wearing. He climbed off the dewback and quickly walked over to it hoping it was Fennec. His heart was pounding as he got closer and it only calmed down when he turned it over and saw that it was Fennec. But there was no trace of Aili or Toro. He tilted his helmet to the side, he didn’t think she would just let Fennec get shot or take off with the speeder bike. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned on the heat signature reader on his t-visor and his eyes narrowed when he picked up on several steps that belonged to Toro. But none from Aili. His jaw clenched knowing there were only a few reasons for not seeing a heat signature but the main one was that she didn't walk out of there. But there was also no sign of a fight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With one last angry look around he got back up on the dewback and made for Peli's hangar. That was the only place he could think of that Toro would go if Fennec had mentioned the kid. He just couldn't figure out what Toro was playing at, taking Aili with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He made it back to Peli's after the suns went down and he pulled his blaster out of its holster. He paused for a moment before deciding to grab one of his flash charges as well, palming it as he walked into the bay as quietly as possible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's about time Mando," Toro said from the Crest before he walked out. Peli in front of him with her hands up and the Child in Toro's grasp. But still no sign of Aili. "Looks like I'm calling the shots now. Drop the blaster."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where is she?” Mando asked, more like growled at Toro. But he did as he demanded, tossing his blaster away and raising his hands to rest behind his helmet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toro let out a chuckle. “She didn’t even put up a fight, Mando.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Behind his helmet, the Mandalorian narrowed his eyes knowing that was a lie. He knew Aili wouldn't go down without a fight. Not when she took down Fennec Shand in hand-to-hand and not when she had taken down several raiders by herself in under five minutes back on Sorgan. She didn’t think he had seen her but he had kept her in his line of sight as best as he could while also giving Cara cover fire. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In fact, she asked for it when we got back to the ship,” Toro added with another laugh. He knew speaking to the Mandalorian like that was a death wish but he held all the cards at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando didn't have time to address the anger he felt growing in his chest at the way Calican was talking about Aili. He prioritized killing Calican first, protecting the Child and Peli, and then he could look for Aili. She had to be nearby but incapacitated if Calican was joking about it. He watched as Toro pushed Peli forward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Cuff him and don't try anything funny."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peli muttered a few curses but she did as Calican said. She came down the gangway, a pair of cuffs in her hands, and she was quickly standing behind Mando. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As subtly as he could, the Mandalorian clinked the flash charge he still had in hand against his helmet. Peli looked up in surprise. "You're not as stupid as you look, he took her onto the ship."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pretended to cuff him before hiding them and standing off to his side. Toro, thinking he had actually captured the Mandalorian, laughed again at the way his luck had turned. He had a high value target and </span>
  <em>
    <span>two</span>
  </em>
  <span> Guild traitors in hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Look at you Mando, a traitor to the Guild and for what? This thing?" Toro questioned, shaking the Child a little and making Mando tense up just a little. "But I will tell you, I'm a little reluctant to just hand Aili over. You know how the Guild operates, think they'll let me keep her as payment?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was the last straw for Mando and he set off the flash charge before moving behind the crates off to the side. He heard Toro let off a shot or two and he hoped Peli had been smart enough to get behind something as well. He stepped out of the shadows and shot Toro in the chest before he could fully turn to face him. He watched as he fell to the ground and chest still heaving in anger, he stalked over to make sure he was dead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peli rushed forward as well, looking for the Child that Toro had still been holding. He could barely register her asking where the Child went but he looked around as well. Mando finally heard a small coo and he picked up the Child as he walked out from behind a couple of baskets. His eyes were wide and a little watery as he cooed and lifted a hand in the direction of the Crest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando checked over the Child before handing him over to Peli once he made sure Toro was dead with a swift kick to the man's torso and then he rushed onto the Crest. He couldn't deny that he had somehow grown used to having Aili around and on his ship, not that he would tell her that anytime soon. He would deny that he was beginning to feel anything for her, if only because it was clear she didn’t feel the same way for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He found her against the far wall, curly hair covering her face and wrists in cuffs like the ones Peli had been told to put on him. It was the smallest she had ever looked to him, her personality making her seem larger than her small frame. He kneeled beside her, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw her chest moving up and down in a normal rhythm. She was only unconscious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was gentle as he reached out to move her hair out of her face but he immediately winced when he saw the trail of blood at her hairline. Now he knew why she hadn’t fought against Calican, he had probably coldcocked her so hard that she went down in one blow. Aili twitched at the feeling of his fingers at her scalp and she slowly started to wake up. But he was almost sure that she didn’t have a concussion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He moved his hands down to undo the cuffs around her wrists, wincing again when he took note of the way the skin was red. Even unconscious she had somehow tried to get out of them. He looked up at the sound of her voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando…what happened?” Aili questioned, eyes unfocused and Mando cursed to himself as he took back his earlier assessment. She did have a concussion. A minor one but still. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Calican knocked you out, do you remember that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili’s eyes narrowed as she thought back to what had happened. It was slow to come back to her but it did. “He hit me and then...shot Fennec. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hut'uun</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah well he’s dead now,” Mando said shortly. He was still pissed off at Toro implying that he would keep Aili like some kind of slave. No better than a Hutt. He was lucky that Mando had chosen to only shoot him once. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.” Aili sat there, silent for a long moment before she gasped and looked at him with panic in her eyes, her hands coming up to grip him on his arms. He was taken back by just how scared she looked. “Where’s L--the kid?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s fine, he’s with Peli.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes were still wide as she tried to process the information through her concussion. "Oh, he’s okay. He’s fine." She kept quietly repeating it to herself like she had to convince herself that it was true. Her eyes were getting distant and Mando knew she needed bacta now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But right now, you’re not,” Mando said. “Do you think you can stand up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I...probably not a good idea,” Aili answered, pursing her lips before she swallowed harshly. Behind his helmet Mando cringed knowing she meant she didn’t think she could stand without throwing up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, wait here while I go get the bacta.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t go anywhere else even if I could,” Aili said softly. Mando silently cursed to himself for two reasons; one, he was sure she was about to pass out soon and two, for the way he registered her words with a different meaning. He shook his head and rushed over to where he kept the bacta supplies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is going to hurt,” Mando said once he was back at her side. That was all the warning he gave before he sprayed the bacta on the small cut to her forehead. Aili immediately let out a gasp and she moved away from the mist before it could actually cover enough of the wound to start healing it. “Stay still.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ow!” Aili hissed, ducking away from Mando again, covering her head with her hands. She knew he was trying to help but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. “I can do this myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will you just let me help you?” Mando asked, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. He didn’t expect Aili to go still and a little tense under his grip but if it meant he could get the bacta on her wound, he wasn’t going to ask questions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” Aili didn’t know why Mando was being so nice to her but she wasn’t sure if she liked it or not. She silently cursed herself for even letting Toro knock her out and she cursed herself for the way she reacted to a hand on her shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can-” Mando stopped himself, turning the bacta spray over in his hands as he looked down rather than at Aili. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can squeeze my arm or knee or whatever when it hurts.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not a child, Mando,” Aili hissed out before he sprayed more bacta and her hand involuntarily went for his knee, squeezing it at the stinging pain. “Kriff, the person who came up with bacta couldn’t have made it sting less?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Maybe don't let someone who's not even Guild get the jump on you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili purposely squeezed his knee harder until she heard him let out his own hiss of pain. “Don’t be an asshole.” But she sat still the rest of the time, just watching as Mando made sure he sprayed bacta across the whole wound. She hadn’t even known that Toro had hit her hard enough to break skin. Neither of them commented on the way she shuddered when he ran a hand through her hair to make sure there weren't any other areas where skin broke. Finally Mando was satisfied and he gave Aili a nod. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll go get the kid and let Peli know we’re leaving, you might want to get the blood out of your hair before the kid sees you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was already going to do that, do you know how disgusting dry blood feels in your hair?” Aili said as she pushed herself up from the floor. She swayed a little but held her hands out to stop Mando from trying to steady her. “I’m fine, go get the Child.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili didn’t wait for him to move before she headed for the ‘fresher to clean the blood out of her hair. She almost lost her step once but that was it. Mando waited until the door of the ‘fresher closed before he moved to leave the Crest again. By the time he paid Peli, keeping a few credits for them, Aili was already leaning against the wall waiting for them. She didn’t look that much better but anything was better than unconscious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Child started to cry as soon as he saw her and he was reaching for her to take him. Aili quickly took him into her arms, shushing him and reassuring him that they were all fine. She followed Mando up to the cockpit, still hushing the Child as she did. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>*Run away to a place without painful tears*</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The cockpit had been silent from the moment they jumped into hyperspace, Mando at the controls while Aili held Little Green in her arms, his head resting on her chest. He had seemed to sense that she was upset and was staying still for once. They hadn’t been in hyperspace for very long when Aili decided to break the silence. “Four of the foundlings in your Covert.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian turned to look at her so fast that she was surprised his helmet didn’t go flying off. “What did you say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s why the Armorer made me the cuirass,” Aili said as if it explained everything. She ran a finger down Little Green’s nose, a quick, small smile crossing her face when he let out a coo and snuggled further into her embrace. He had one little hand wrapped in her hair, careful not to pull on it as he started to fall asleep to the sound of her heartbeat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t understand.” Mando didn’t understand how Aili knew about the foundlings or why the Armorer would use beskar on someone who wasn’t a part of the Covert or even a Mandalorian. He had always been taught that beskar belonged to them and it should only be used to enrich their people. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re, um, she calls them my </span>
  <em>
    <span>ade</span>
  </em>
  <span> which,” Aili paused to let out something that could almost be called a laugh. “I guess that’s what they are.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you’re not a Mandalorian,” Mando said dumbly. If they were foundlings but she wasn’t a Mandalorian...he found the thought angered him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Mando,” Aili huffed out, once again wondering how he was once considered her equal in the Guild. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So they just accept that you’ve abandoned them?” Even he was surprised by the harshness in his voice and he winced when Aili turned to glare at him. It was the same one she had given him on Sorgan when she found out he was planning to leave her and the kid there. But now her reaction there made a little more sense to him.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do not </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span> say that to me again, Mando. I did not abandon them, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>saved </span>
  </em>
  <span>them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando wasn’t sure what it was about her statement that made his hand tighten around the arms of his chair or the way he clenched his jaw. “Being </span>
  <em>
    <span>aruetti</span>
  </em>
  <span> is a disservice to them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’ve been through, how many-” Aili had to pause to calm herself down before she said something that she regretted. She looked down at Little Green in her arms, the one wanted by the same people she spent half her life accepting yet fearing at the same time. He had fallen asleep and she leaned forward to place him in his cradle, tucking his blanket around him. She hit the button to close the cradle just in case she got loud. “I spent over half my life following people I didn’t trust and while I trust your Armorer to take care of them…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You already follow most of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Rensol’nare</span>
  </em>
  <span> so what is it? Too proud to swear the Creed and hide your face from the galaxy? Too used to using your looks to catch bounties?” Mando wasn’t sure what made him say it, maybe because if she was a Mandalorian as well this would be easier for him. He wouldn’t see her face nearly every night or maybe then he wouldn’t have had to deal with her constant state of undress back on Sorgan. Either way he pushed her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a sound like an angry loth cat and she shot out of her seat, caging Mando in as she gripped the arms of his seat. “Look, not everyone was lucky enough to be taken in by Mandalorians. Some of us had parents that </span>
  <em>
    <span>sold </span>
  </em>
  <span>them to the Empire where they were turned into obedient weapons.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe one of these weapons got tired of k--tired of seeing </span>
  <em>
    <span>children</span>
  </em>
  <span> killed for failing one too many times. So maybe they killed as many Imps as they could but could only get out </span>
  <em>
    <span>ten</span>
  </em>
  <span> children out of </span>
  <em>
    <span>hundreds.</span>
  </em>
  <span> And four of them had no family left so maybe finding them the next best thing was the only thing I could do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili pushed away from Mando’s chair, still staring down at him with venom in her eyes and voice. “The Krayt Program was and still is the Empire’s best kept secret and I only took out </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>base. So yes, Madsin, Sula, Jaesa and Shaeli are my responsibility but the way I live is not how I want them to grow up. The Armorer and I both agreed about that so they were to be raised as foundlings.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian took a moment, swallowing hard even though Aili couldn’t see it, before he tilted his helmet slightly in thought. He didn’t know the foundlings very well, never at the Covert long enough between jobs, but he knew about those four. Even knew them by name. Had heard others talk about how they had just shown up on day, the older two already skilled at fighting, but they had no </span>
  <em>
    <span>buir</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The Armorer had made it clear that they would not have one, that they had a sponsor that would provide for them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re their sponsor.” He stated more than asked, he wasn’t wrong. Nothing else would make sense, otherwise the Armorer wouldn’t call them her </span>
  <em>
    <span>ade</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Aili sighed, finally moving to settle back down into her own seat. She took another breath to calm herself down more. “I see them as often as I can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what do they think about you not swearing the Creed?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shaeli and Jaesa are still too young to really know what it would mean to take the Creed or not. Sula has already said that she wants to train as a medic after her </span>
  <em>
    <span>verd’goten</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she’s done with fighting.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando was a little surprised that one was willing to go through the </span>
  <em>
    <span>verd’goten</span>
  </em>
  <span> despite planning to be a medic. He supposed everyone had to in order to be seen as an adult. But Aili had said four names. “And the last one?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A wry smile crossed Aili’s face. “Madsin understands the most why I can’t take it. She was one of the first ones I trained who didn’t--she just knows how much I went through at their age and how much I tried to shield them from.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And does she plan to take the Creed?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She does, she already went through her </span>
  <em>
    <span>verd’goten</span>
  </em>
  <span> but asked to wait until she turns seventeen to take the Creed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?” Mando was shocked that the Armorer had allowed it although it hadn’t been unheard of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She was taken from Corellia, the age of adulthood there is seventeen and since it’s one of the few things she remembers of her home planet…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It made sense to the Mandalorian. He hadn’t cared when he took the Creed at 13, it was all he had at the time. He had lost everything and the Mandalorians had taken him in with open arms. “How old were they when you brought them to the Covert?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Madsin was twelve, Sula had, um, she had just turned eight. I had to carry Shaeli and Jaesa for hours after we landed on Nevarro, they were only three and two but so small for their ages.” Aili recalled that day crystal clear. How it had taken them so long to reach the city that she almost thought she had made it up in her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How old were you?” Mando asked. He couldn’t picture how old she had been or even how old she was now. She had said she was with the Empire for over half her life but if the oldest child had been 12...he couldn’t imagine Aili letting herself be used as a weapon for them for that long. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was old enough that I could have stopped it before they took Madsin.” She hated herself a little more every time she was reminded of how she had let the Empire ruin so many people’s lives. Had let them cut so many of those lives shorter than they would have been if they had been able to stay with their families. Knowing that it had only been maybe five years so far would haunt her every day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How old are you now?” Mando asked, stupidly asking for two reasons. He only hoped that Aili couldn’t see through to him and his second motive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If this is you making sure it’s okay think about fucking me…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What-I’m-no,” Mando stuttered over his words, not even sure what he was trying to say in response to Aili’s bluntness. He felt warmth on his face and wondered if it was too late to just say goodnight and head down to the cot. But then he remembered that it was Aili’s night and he couldn’t just leave now or she’d know that she was right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili laughed loudly, knowing that Mando hadn’t been expecting that. “I’m joking, Mando. I’m 34...or 32, I’m not actually sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando cleared his throat before asking a new question, ignoring the way his heart sped up knowing that he wasn’t much older than Aili. It had been easier when he thought she was younger than that. “How do you not know how old you are?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They didn’t really start keeping records until 20 BBY and by then they forgot exactly when I got there so they marked it down as either 25 or 23 BBY.” Aili shrugged, it didn’t really bother her. She knew she was in her 30s which was all that really mattered. “You?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“29 BBY.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let a smile cross her face. “I knew we were almost the same age, now you can stop treating me like a kid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando was silent until he tilted his helmet to the side, “You’re still as short as I was when I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>thirteen</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to fight? Because I will drag you down to the cargo hold and kick your ass.” Aili threatened but not as heated as her usual threats were when aimed towards him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You did enough of that on Sorgan.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ego </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> hurting from that?” Aili laughed, the earlier mood forgotten. “I’m going to bed before you try to ask any more stupid questions.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughed once more before opening the cradle and taking Little Green out so he could lay with her. Mando didn’t comment on how she couldn’t have left the Child but he held back even as he watched as she left the cockpit and kept staring long after her figure disappeared down into the cargo area. He spent the rest of the night processing everything that Aili had told him about herself but before he fell asleep in his chair, he realized that she had stumbled over her words twice. She had stopped herself from saying something and then she had to take a moment when she mentioned the one child being 8. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Mando's translations<br/>Hut'uun: coward<br/>Ade: children, sons, daughters (gender neutral)<br/>Aruetti: traitor, outsider<br/>Resol'nare: Six Actions, tenets of Mandalorian life<br/>Verd'goten: Mandalorian rite of passage after which youth are accepted as an adult</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter Twelve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mando and Aili need credits and they need them now if they want to keep being at least five steps in front of any bounty hunters after them. Thankfully (or maybe not) Mando still has a contact with a group of mercs he used to work with back when he was young and stupid. There’s no way this can go wrong.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>They were in the middle of space, Mando up in the cockpit and Aili down in the cargo hold trying to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. She counted once more, glanced over at their food supplies, and let out a deep sigh. She brought her hands up to her temples and tried to stop the growing headache she felt coming. She took one more moment to go over all the ways they were slowly becoming screwed in the middle of space. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With one more long sigh, Aili pushed herself up from the floor, shoving her bag back against the wall with her foot. She headed up to the cockpit, knocking on the door just in case Mando had taken his helmet off even though Little Green was in there too. She knew a good amount about the Creed but she hadn’t cared to know all of the tiny details like if children who couldn’t speak counted or not.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need credits,” Aili said bluntly as she walked into the room. That small nest egg she had saved for years was all but gone now. She had used some on Tatooine to fix the Crest and then she had bought their new comlinks for Life Day but she had used most of it to buy supplies. Mostly on food for Little Green who ate so much despite being so small. And she still had no idea how much Mando had saved before all of this but she was willing to bet it wasn’t enough to keep them flying for much longer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know,” Mando said before going back to being silent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay well what are we going to do about it?" Aili questioned, sitting down onto her seat and spinning it to face Mando. “Because we can’t keep landing on random planets and hoping someone has a job. I also don’t want another concussion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando was quiet for a long time before he took in a deep breath and looked over at her. "I know where we can get a job."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If it's back on Tatooine…" Aili trailed off. There were now multiple reasons why she never wanted to go back to that hellscape of a planet, Peli had been the only good thing there. The only place worse would be going somewhere like Jakku. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, it's...I used to work with this group,” Mando hesitated again and Aili felt her eye twitch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Mando, at this point, I wouldn't care if you used to be a spice runner. I used to be Imp </span>
  <em>
    <span>property</span>
  </em>
  <span>, remember? Nothing can be worse than that,” she said, giving him a stare that would have made him take a step back if he wasn’t sitting down. He looked back at her for a long moment before he finally turned to bring up a holocall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I’ll make the call, they should have a job.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And it’ll pay well?” Aili asked, knowing that should be their top priority rather than a quick and easy job. As long as they didn’t have to go to Tatooine agan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They always did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well now I’m intrigued,” Aili said, leaning forward just a little as Mando started the call. She stayed quiet as he spoke to someone who gave him coordinates for their space station. No details about the job, just a promise that there was one right up Mando’s alley and then the call was shut off. Mando locked in the coordinates, taking them into hyperspace right after and they were off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks like we’re leaving the middle of nowhere to go to the middle of nowhere,” Aili commented after she took a glance at the coordinates. Mando stayed quiet and Aili narrowed her eyes at that. She wasn’t sure what was so bad about these people when they were both bounty hunters and one of them used to work for the Empire. Not by choice but she still did their dirty work.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t take long for them to drop out of hyperspace and Aili let out a sound of quiet appreciation for the way the space station looked. It wasn’t what she was expecting but then she figured that it made sense, it wasn’t like the New Republic was really looking this far out so it was easier to get away with things like this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me do the talking,” Mando said as soon as he landed the Crest in the hangar bay. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a loud laugh, the sound echoing throughout the cockpit. She didn’t get to see the way a small smile crossed Mando’s face at the sound of it before he forced it away. “That would imply that you would actually talk enough for the two of us.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just...please?” Mando asked, tone sounding almost like he was actually pleading for Aili to follow his lead. She was a little taken aback by it and blinked a few times before she nodded her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but if anyone insinuates </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I’m throwing punches and you won’t be able to stop me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t be a first for them.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili rolled her eyes before making sure that Little Green was asleep before moving him into the cot and shutting the hatch. She heard the hatch lock shut, Mando probably hitting the button on his vambrace to do so. She didn’t know what kind of people they were meeting with and as much as she hated leaving him alone on the ship, they didn’t have a choice this time. She just hoped he would stay asleep long enough for them to finish the job and be back before he knew they were gone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They got off the ship and immediately got stares, more pairs of eyes on Mando than on Aili but it was still unnerving. She wasn’t used to being the center of attention like that, usually sticking to the shadows while hunting a bounty. People didn't even stare at her back on the base, usually keeping their eyes on the floor when she walked down a hall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando,” a bearded man said, moving towards them. “Is that you under that bucket?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ran.” Mando held a hand out which Ran took to shake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t know if I’d ever see you out in these parts again,” Ran said before his eyes moved over to where Aili was standing beside Mando. “Good to see you and with a pretty little thing at your side too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili clenched her fists at her side as well as her jaw. She had promised to let Mando do the talking but Ran was already pushing his luck. From the corner of her eye she saw Mando tilt his helmet in her direction but she kept her mouth shut for once. Ran placed his hand on Mando’s shoulder, turning him so they could walk further into the hangar. Aili followed quietly, ignoring the stares they were still getting from the people doing repairs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know I was surprised when you reached out. You know, I, I hear things, like maybe things between you and the Guild aren’t workin’ out.” Ran said, with faux-concern. Aili wondered if Mando could tell as well but they needed a job no matter what. Even if she already didn’t like Ran. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll be fine.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ran looked at both of them for a long moment before he threw his arms out in a shrug. “Well, you know the policy. No questions. You’re welcome back here anytime.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He led them up to the catwalk above the hangar bay so no one could listen in on their conversation. Aili walked behind them, hating every second since it made her feel like she was below them. Mando finally spoke, “What’s the job?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One of our associates ran afoul of some competitors and got himself caught. Putting together a crew to spring him,” Ran explained before stopping halfway down the catwalk to look at Mando. “It’s a five person job, I have four. All I need is the ride and you brought it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That wasn’t part of the deal,” both Aili and Mando said at the same time. Aili really didn’t want these people on the Crest where Little Green was. These were glorified mercs, they didn’t care about anything but where their next credits came from. Even if it was in the form of a small alien child. She wouldn’t trust them as far as she could throw them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Crest is the only reason I let him come back, sweetheart.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando grabbed Aili by the arm before she could take more than a single half-step towards Ran. He had honestly been expecting it by this point, had been since Ran called her “a pretty little thing” almost as soon as they landed. He was just surprised that she had lasted this long. But they couldn’t afford for her to piss off Ran before the job.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Feisty, that always was your taste, Mando. But back to the ship.” Ran got close to Mando. “That better be gratitude I see.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walked away from them, laughing and it took everything for Aili to not rip her arm out of Mando’s grasp and just shoot or even stab Ran. Instead she turned to Mando with a glare on her face. “This is not what we agreed to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know. We don’t have any other options.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So we just let mercs onto the Crest? With the Child?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re not mercs,” Mando said, shoulders tensing as he finally let go of Aili’s arm. He placed his hands on the railing, clenching the bar underneath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span> you didn’t want to call </span>
  <em>
    <span>yourself </span>
  </em>
  <span>one but they are,” Aili hissed out, gesturing towards where Ran walked off to. “And if they find out about the kid and his bounty, we’re fucked.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You heard Ran. No questions. It goes both ways.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah well when has that ever stopped anyone?” Aili said as she turned to walk the way Ran had gone. Mando joined her a second later probably to make sure she didn’t blow the job for them. She’d be insulted if she wasn’t so angry now. She knew how badly they needed credits and she’d finish the job so they could get the hell out of there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ran was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs and he gestured for them to follow him. “Let me introduce you to someone.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He led them over to a bald man who was looking over something, Aili didn’t care enough to pay too much attention as she came to a stop beside Mando. She wanted as much distance between herself and Ran and it seemed Mando had the same idea as he made sure she was on his right side.. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mayfeld.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Mayfeld said as he turned to face them with a bored expression on his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is Mando, the guy I was telling you about. We used to do jobs way back when. And this is-” Ran trailed off gesturing for Aili to give her name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thought you said no questions,” Aili said shortly, staring at a spot on the wall behind Mayfeld. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kal’ika,” Mando said for her and Aili glanced up at him with a blank stare. That was the best he could come up with? Calling her the equivalent of ‘little blade’? She supposed it was better than giving her actual name though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is the guy?” Mayfeld questioned before anyone could say anything else. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, we were all young and tryin’ to make a name for ourselves.” Ran laughed again, the sound now grating in Aili’s ears. He laughed too much. “Runnin’ with a Mandalorian though, that brought us some reputation.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what did he get out of it?” Mayfeld asked, propping a leg up on an empty crate looking at Mando with a minute amount of interest now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I asked him that one time, and do you remember what you said, Mando? Target practice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili rolled her eyes as Ran burst out laughing once again and Mayfeld pretended to take a step back with his hands up in surrender. Children. She was stuck working a job with actual children that had blasters. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was a long time ago.” She could hear the heat of embarrassment in his voice even past the modulator. That was what he got for being a hot-headed, probably 20-something, idiot who decided to run with mercs for quick credits. Not that she really had any room to talk but at least she hadn’t had a choice while he did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look familiar,” Mayfeld suddenly said, eyes narrowed as he looked at Aili. Trying to figure out why she looked like someone he had seen before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just have one of those faces.” She was pretty sure would have remembered ever meeting a man like Mayfeld. Or maybe not, he wasn’t that interesting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ran sobered up and looked at Mando. “Now listen, I don’t go out much anymore so Mayfeld is gonna be runnin’ point. If he says it, it’s like it’s comin’ from me. You good with that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You tell me,” Mando stated, his t-visor facing Mayfeld straight on. Aili stared at the wall again, trying to keep her face clear of the annoyance she was now feeling. This was just going to be a great job if Mando and Mayfeld were already sizing each other up and they weren’t even on the way to the job yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You haven’t changed one bit,” Ran laughed out. “Aside from the new girl, lemme tell you someone will be upset about that one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, things have changed around here.” Mayfeld said before turning to walk away from them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, Mayfeld here is one of the best triggermen I’ve ever seen. Former Imperial sharpshooter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili tensed from beside Mando, now she knew why Mayfeld probably thought she looked familiar. “That’s not saying much,” Mando said shortly, causing Aili to hit him below his pauldron without thinking about it. Doing that had almost become second nature to her when Mando said something stupid...which was often. She was lucky that she hadn’t accidentally hit the beskar yet.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mayfeld quickly turned back to glare at him. “I wasn’t a stormtrooper, wiseass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t take long, does it?” Ran said, laughing once more and leading them back down towards the hangar. Aili noticed they went in the opposite direction as Mayfeld probably because Mando had now pissed the man off. She was too distracted by the fact that now she would have to be careful to stay off Mayfeld’s radar if he was ex-Imperial. They met back up with Mayfeld in front of the Crest and Aili was back to keeping her face schooled into disinterest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A Razor Crest? I’m surprised the thing can fly. Looks like a Canto Bight slot machine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Aili wasn’t trying to keep herself quiet, she would have laughed because she didn’t necessarily disagree with Mayfeld. Even though she had grown to see the Crest as a sort-of second home, she still wished that she would have been able to drag Mando to her ship instead when they were back on Nevarro. She’d feel a little less on top of the Mandalorian every time she turned around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The good-looking fellow with the horns, that’s Burg.” Aili looked over at the Devaronian and held back a cringe when he dropped the crate he was carrying. “This may surprise you but he’s our muscle.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stood still as Burg came close, getting up in Mando’s space before walking around the two of them to size Mando up. “So this is a Mandalorian? Thought they’d be bigger.” And then he walked off to go get more crates ready. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mayfeld continued as if nothing had happened making Aili think this was normal behavior for Burg. He pointed to a protocol droid, “Droid's name is Zero.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando was tense at the thought of a droid on his ship but that was nothing compared to the dread at who else could be on the team. “I thought you said you had four.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He does.” A feminine voice spoke from behind them and both Aili and the Mandalorian turned to face it. One with curiosity and the other more stiffly. It was a Twi’lek with purple-tinged skin and Aili’s eyes narrowed in on the knife she was casually twirling. She subtly removed one of her own knives, keeping it hidden against her palm for now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello Mando.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Xi’an,” the Mandalorian said tersely, shoulders squared more than they had been before. With every introduction, Aili was getting more and more wary of this job and now it was at an all time high. In just under five words, she knew everything she needed to know about their past relationship and she already knew she didn’t want to be stuck in the middle but he was her ride.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me why I shouldn’t cut you down where you stand?” Xi’an asked before rushing forward, knife out, only to be blocked by Aili’s own knife. “Oh, and who is this? A new </span>
  <em>
    <span>pet</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you like having lekku?” Aili asked, baring her teeth and keeping her knife out even as Xi’an moved away. She wasn’t even sure if she was threatening the Twi’lek for the knife she had held against Mando or calling her a “pet.” She was going to go with both for now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it’s a loth-cat.” Xi’an laughed when Aili tensed up even more before looking at Mando up and down. “This is shiny. You wear it well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should we leave the room or something?” Mayfeld asked. “Tell me now but if there’s going to be a girl-fight…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Poor Xi’an’s been heartbroken ever since Mando left our group,” Ran said, the tone in his voice betraying what he really thought about the situation. A joke. Like everything else he had said so far in between bouts of being serious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mayfeld placed his hands on his knees and leaned in a little towards Xi’an before speaking in a condescending tone, “Aww, you gonna be okay sweetheart? ‘Cause he’s obviously moved on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m all business now. Learned from the best so you might want to watch out, loth-cat.” Xi’an pointed her knife at Aili with a smirk on her face before she laughed and walked away from them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili’s grip on her knife tightened until Mando placed a hand over her own. She looked up at him to see him shake his helmet slightly. She gritted her teeth before stiffly putting her knife away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, alright. We don’t have much time so if anyone </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to fight, do it on the ship,” Ran said, gesturing for everyone to get a move on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Burg came back up to them, sizing Mando up again. “Tiny.” He looked down at Aili next. “Tinier.” He walked towards the rest of the crew, laughing loudly as he did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your old crew is great, Mando. Really, </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>great.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was it you said to Cara? Quick, quiet…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And hope nobody will notice. Here’s the problem though, they’ve already seen us,” Aili said as she looked up at Mando with a hard expression on her face. He tried not to take a step back when she made eye contact even through the t-visor and he wondered how she managed to do that so often. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter Thirteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The crew goes over the plan, Mando and Aili discover it's more than they signed up for but they don't have any other choice than to go through with it. Mayfeld still thinks Aili looks familiar and Zero brags about his piloting and later proves that he's not above being an asshole even for a droid.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Had to up the rating of the story because there's just a lot of cursing in this chapter and the next one has a little more than canon-typical violence in my opinion</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mando was tense as he watched the droid in the cockpit, barely paying attention as Mayfeld went over the plan. Aili sighed as she paid enough attention for the both of them knowing Mando wouldn’t catch half of it if he was more worried about a droid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, the package is being moved on a fortified transport ship,” Mayfeld started, bringing up a holo of the transport ship. Aili narrowed her eyes at the sight of it, her head tilting in thought. “Now, we got a limited time to board, find our friend, get him outta there before they make their jump.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a sound of surprise before clearing her throat and pointing at the holo. “Is that a New Republic prison ship?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that gonna be a problem, princess?” Mayfeld asked, unsure about the short woman who he still thought looked familiar. He was going to figure it out by the time they made it to the prison ship though. He didn’t like unknowns on jobs he was running. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, but call me princess again and there will be.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your man wasn’t taken by a rival syndicate,” Mando interrupted before either of them could say anything else. “He was arrested.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what?” Mayfeld questioned, leaning against the table towards Mando.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A job is a job,” Ran said, looking over at Mando with a look that was almost daring him to disagree with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a max security transport, we’re not looking for that kind of heat.” Aili stated, sparing a glance at Mando before looking back over at the holo. At least </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> wasn’t looking for that kind of heat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We? You’re bringing your girlfriend along?” Mayfeld asked, raising his brow in shock. He didn’t want to keep some random woman safe during a job because her Mando boyfriend didn’t trust her to be alone on the space station. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not his girlfriend,” Aili stated, her right hand clenching into a fist as her eyebrow twitched. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I meant bed warmer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time Mando didn’t stop Aili from moving. He simply watched as she decked Mayfeld across the face who fell backwards and onto his ass from the force of her punch. “The next person who calls me a fuckin’ loth-cat or implies that I’m fucking Mando, I will shove a knife so far up your ass you’ll have to pull it out from your throat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess we got a team of six then,” Ran spoke, not even fazed by Mayfeld pushing himself back up from the floor while Aili walked back over to Mando’s side. “And we’re not looking for heat either so just don’t mess up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The good news is that the ship is manned by droids. Still hate the machines, Mando?” Xi’an asked, leaning in too close for Aili’s comfort and pointing at Zero with the knife she had yet to put away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Despite recent modifications, the ship is still quite a mess,” Zero said as he walked down the gangway. “The power lines are leaking, the navigation is intermittent, and the hyperdrive is only operating at 67.3% efficiency. We have much better ships, why are we using this one?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Cause the Razor Crest is off both the old Imperial </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> New Republic grid. It’s a ghost ship,” Ran answered with a shrug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And we need a ship that can get close enough to jam New Republic code. So when we drop out of hyperspace here,” Mayfeld pointed to a spot on the holo, one hand rubbing at his jaw where Aili had punched him. “And then immediately bank into this kinda attitude, we should be right in their blindspot which will give us just enough time for your ship to scramble our signal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not possible. Even for the Crest,” Mando stated, he wouldn’t be able to pull off that kind of maneuver.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually, Mando...it is,” Aili said as she winced knowing that he wasn’t going to like what she was about to say. She still remembered how he had reacted to the pit droids on Tatooine and she figured the need for a job was the only thing keeping him from shooting Zero. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is if he’s flying,” Aili said, nodding her head towards Zero. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s right, he’s going to be flying.” Ran said, a little impressed that Aili had picked up on that part of the plan so quickly. Mayfeld burst out laughing when Mando tensed up and turned to stare at Zero. The rest of the crew was still laughing as they walked onto the ship and Aili let out an annoyed huff of breath, likening them to children again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando, I know you’re a pretty good pilot but we need you on the trigger not on the wheel,” Ran explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando turned to look down at Aili who immediately shook her head. “I can’t pilot the ship like that, the droid will be better than either of us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She is correct. My response time is quicker than organics and I’m smarter too,” Zero said, tapping the side of his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, yeah, all right,” Ran said, patting Zero on his shoulder to get him to go to the ship before turning back to Mando. “Forgive the programming, he’s a little rough around the edges. But he is the best.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How can you trust it?” Mando questioned, pointing to where the droid had gone. Aili took note of the way that he was standing, shoulders tense and she figured it wasn’t just because of the droid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know you me, Mando. I don’t trust anybody,” Ran chuckled before motioning for them to get to it. Mando and Aili walked up the gangway, Aili in front to get away from Ran quicker. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just like the good, old days, huh Mando?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando hit the button to close the gangway without replying, still annoyed that a droid was going to be piloting his ship. Even more annoyed that they were heading for a New Republic prison ship. He waited until the door was closed all the way to turn to Aili and gently grab her wrist before she could walk further into the Crest. “Is this going to be a problem?” Mando asked quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili glanced down at the hand on her wrist before looking back up at Mando. “What? Working with your ex who seems to think we do have something going on and has been threatening to gut me with her eyes?” Aili shrugged her shoulder. “No problem with me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know what I meant.” Mando said, trying to make sure that Aili knew he wasn’t joking right now. They were heading for a New Republic prison ship and she was technically ex-Imperial just like Mayfeld. But Mando didn’t care about what happened to Mayfeld if the job went south. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know what you meant but it’ll be fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can still decide to stay on the ship.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And leave you with your ex who would just as soon gut you as fuck you? Or the Devaronian who’s been sizing you up? Or the ex-Imp who </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> doesn’t like you? Pass.” AIli pulled her wrist out of Mando’s grasp and headed for where everyone else was waiting. Mando watched as she left before sighing and heading for the cockpit to watch the droid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili walked past everyone, leaning against the wall by the hatch where the cot was. Burg was pacing around like he couldn’t stop for a single second or he would die. Xi’an was balancing her knife on a fingertip while Mayfeld was showing her something on a datapad. She didn’t know what they were reading but Mayfeld looked up at her as she went past him with a look on his face that she wasn’t sure she liked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will you sit down?” Xi’an said harshly when Burg passed in front of her again, leading the Devaronian to reach up and bang against the ceiling. Xi’an responded with a snarl, showing her teeth and making Burg laugh. Aili rolled her eyes from her spot and waited for them to go into hyperspace. She didn’t have to wait long, feeling the slight jolt that always went through the Crest when they made the jump. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Burg went over to the control panel beside the ladder. Aili felt herself go tense until she saw the weapons locker open. She had to shift over a bit to avoid being hit by a panel but other than that, the weapons now had Burg’s attention. She didn’t care as much as Mando probably would because any attention on anything other than the cot behind her was low on her priority list. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just like he knew she was thinking of him, Mando dropped down from the ladder and turned just in time to see Burg going through his weapons. He wasted no time hitting the button on his vambrace that would close it back up, looking over at Aili who simply shrugged her shoulders as she moved back over, no longer covering the control panel of the hatch. A stupid mistake on her part. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Burg hit the weapons locker once, turning to face Mando in annoyance before trying to mess with the hatch panel by Aili. She blocked his hand at the same time as Mando and Burg didn’t seem to like that. He crowded up against Mando, forcing Aili further against the wall as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you don’t sit the kriff down now, I will make you sit down,” Aili growled, glaring up at Burg and uncaring that he was even bigger than Mando. It might take her a bit longer but she had taken down bigger targets. The only real challenges being the tight space and that she didn’t know how he fought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, alright. Everyone calm down, I’m a little particular about my personal space too,” Mayfeld said in a sorry attempt to break up a fight. “Let’s just focus on the job. We get in, get out, and you two never have to see our faces again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someone tell me why we even need a Mandalorian or his tiny-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Finish that sentence, I dare you.” Aili threatened even as Mando put a hand on her shoulder to hold her back. There wasn’t enough room for anyone to fight even someone as small as Aili. The Devaronian was taking up all of the space with his large, imposing figure and had them both all but cornered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Apparently Mandos are the greatest warriors in the galaxy. So they say. And I guess that extends to the company they keep,” Mayfeld explained, a smirk on his face. Aili really didn’t like the look Mayfeld gave her now, like he knew who she was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why are they all dead?” Burg asked, finally moving away from the two of them to lean against the ladder. Everyone other than Aili and Mando started laughing at Burg’s comment. Aili clenched her hands into fists and planted her feet firmly on the ground because she was close to snapping. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You flew with him, Xi’an. Is he as good as they say?” Mayfeld questioned, finally turning away from Mando and Aili. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ask him about the job on Alzoc III,” she replied, glancing over at Mando from the corner of her eyes before focusing on her knife again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando tensed up, the hand he still had on Aili’s shoulder tightening for a fraction of a second. “I did what I had to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Xi’an chuckled, finally dropping the knife balancing on her fingertip. “Oh but you </span>
  <em>
    <span>liked</span>
  </em>
  <span> it. See, I know who you really are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He never takes off the helmet?” Mayfeld asked, trying to work out the logistics of a lot of things at once. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is the Way,” Xi’an mocked, holding the hand with her knife to her chest. Aili looked over at the Twi’lek for a split second, knowing exactly where she wanted to stick that knife. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh. I wonder what you look like under there. Maybe he’s a Gungan.” Mayfeld joked. “Is that why yousa don’t wanna show your face?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all laughed again and Aili felt her one eyebrow twitch, something that only happened when she was mad. She slowly shrugged Mando’s hand off her shoulder, still standing about as rigidly as he was. She just didn’t have the luxury of having her face hidden from everyone’s view so she tried to keep it blank. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You ever seen his face?” Mayfeld asked Xi’an again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A lady never tells,” Xi’an gasped out, messing with one of her lekku now as she grinned over at Mando. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t see any ladies here, do you?” Aili finally spoke. She smirked at the snarl she got from Xi’an before raising a single eyebrow in a dare. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw, come on you two. We all gotta trust each other here. You gotta show us something.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili saw Burg stand back up to his full height and look over at Mando while Mayfeld kept egging him on. She quickly calculated exactly how to take Burg down in the small space available even as Mayfeld kept talking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, lift the helmet up. Let us see your eyes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll do it.” Burg didn’t even make it half a step forward when AIli shoved Mando towards where Mayfeld was. She hooked an arm around Burg’s, pulling it down towards her body before punching him twice in the face, then she brought her other hand up to his shoulder to use his own body as leverage to lift herself up. She wrapped her legs around his neck and used the momentum to spin them and flip him onto the floor. She stood up again and flipped her hair back over her shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyone else wanna try something stupid?” Aili asked, sidestepping over a groaning Burg. Both Mayfeld and Xi’an stared in shock while Mando stood from where he had stumbled to from Aili’s shove. Burg growled as he got up from the floor, one hand hitting the control panel to the hatch in his attempt to stand up. He still ended up falling into the vac tube. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kriff,” Aili hissed out when the hatch opened to reveal Little Green sitting there wide awake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, what is that?” Mayfeld asked in surprise, getting up from his seat to walk over to the hatch. “You get lonely up here, buddy? Wait a minute, did one of you two make that with him? What is it, like a pet or somethin’?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Something like that.” Mando said stiffly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t take you for the type. Maybe that code of your has made you soft, or maybe she did.” Xi’an said, leaning in towards Mando before pointing her knife towards Aili for a quick second. Neither Mando or Aili said anything, both of their attention on Mayfeld who was now leaning in closer to the Child.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me? I was never really into pets. Didn’t have the temperament or patience, you know?” Mayfeld said, before looking back down at the kid. “But I’m thinking maybe I’ll try again with this little fella.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili took in a breath while Mando drew his shoulders up as Mayfeld picked up the Child. She felt her stomach tense while Mando took half a step forward when Mayfeld pretended to drop him but other than that, she tried to keep her face as blank as Mando’s helmet. Mayfeld and Xi’an both chuckled at the two of them and Mayfeld went to say something when Zero’s voice came over the ship comms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dropping out of hyperspace now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was all the warning any of you got before the ride got more than a little bumpy. It was never that rough of a jump and Aili wondered just what that droid was doing up there. She wrapped one palm around a ladder rung while the other reached out to grab Mando’s shoulder, her hand clutching at the cape above his pauldron. He was slightly steadier on his feet than she was right now making him the ideal option for her to stay on her own feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Commencing final approach, now.” Zero’s voice continued. “Cloaking signal, now.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Crest suddenly pulled into a spiral and everyone went flying towards the floor, Mayfeld dropping Little Green who let out a squeal before he hit the floor. Both Aili and Mando immediately dropped down to the floor to cover him from rolling anywhere else. Aili got there first and pulled him into her arms. She turned to lay on her back while Mando all but straddled her, his arms placed on either side of her head and his legs caging her in so she didn’t go rolling around herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Engaging coupling now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shoot that droid once we’re out of here,” Aili said, looking up at Mando’s t-visor before having to look away. This was the closest she and Mando had been, even when they were back on Sorgan where they shared a single hut they had still never been this close to each other. She wasn’t sure why she couldn’t even look at the Mandalorian right now but she tried to put all her focus on keeping Little Green safe right now.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt the ship finally land and let out a quiet sigh of relief. Once they were steady, Mando got up and held a hand out for Aili to take. She took it and let him lift her and Little Green up from the floor. They went back over to the hatch where Aili put him down, looking over him to make sure that he hadn’t been hurt when Mayfeld dropped him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Coupling confirmed. We are down.” Zero’s voice came again. “And relax. Commence extraction now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Useless droid, didn’t even give a proper countdown,” Xi’an snarled, still on the floor. Burg lifted two crates, tossing them aside while Mayfeld pulled out his comm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Z, you’re sure they can’t see us?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando tapped AIli on the shoulder, pointing to his helmet when she looked up at him, and then pointed to the Child followed by a thumbs up. She finally relaxed a little, stopping her fussing over Little Green. She leaned in close to him while Mayfeld kept talking to the droid. “We’ll be right back, please stay here until we get you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Little Green let out a coo before scooting further back into the cot and watching as Aili moved away. Mando shut the hatch and they both turned to look at Mayfeld just in time to hear Zero’s reply. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Razor Crest is scrambling our signature and I am inside the prison system. It’s impressive that this gunship had survived the Empire without being impounded.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right, we got a job to do. Mando, you’re up.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando moved forward to open the floor hatch of the Crest, Aili kneeling beside him just in case he screwed something up. Not that there were many ways to do so in this case. It was a simple plug in and wait game. Neither she nor Mando saw the looks being exchanged by the rest of the crew as they waited for the light to turn green. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hatch opened and Mando disconnected the cable, him and Aili standing afterwards. Everyone looked to Mayfeld who looked back with a stupid look on his face leaving Aili even more unimpressed. Mayfeld pointed at himself, “It’s me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Always you,” Burg said. Mayfeld dropped down into the ship, followed by Xi’an and then Burg leaving Mando and Aili onboard. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Last chance,” Mando said, tilting his helmet towards the hatch where the Child was. Aili shook her head, a smirk on her face now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not gonna work,” she replied with a wink before dropping down onto the prison ship, Mando following after one last glance towards the hatch himself. Now they just had to get through a whole prison manned by droids that would shoot first and ask questions never.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter Fourteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Surprise, the job goes sideways as so many of Mando’s ideas do. Only this time there's a countdown involved making it more pressing than ever for them to get the job done as quickly as possible. Too bad the crew decides it would be the best idea to cross Mando and Aili...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“All right, we’re on the clock,” Mayfeld said once everyone was on the prison ship. “The second we engage those droids, they’re gonna be all over us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know the drill,” Mando said shortly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bio trackers activated for all but one but I’ve got eyes otherwise,” Zero said over Mayfeld’s comlink and everyone took a moment to look at each other in confusion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That would be me, sorry,” Aili said, shrugging when everyone looked at her. The Empire hadn’t wanted their prized secret to be traceable by anyone but them so they had used a different method to track them for when they were sent out on missions. One that Aili had been quick to remove from herself and the girls she was able to get out before destroying the base. It was one of the reasons the New Republic hadn’t been able to find her yet. She and everyone she got out were effectively ghosts just like the Razor Crest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you not-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we breaking someone out of prison or talking?” Aili questioned, looking at Mayfeld with a raised brow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right, let’s just get going,” Mayfeld said before he took off for the hallway. Mando was right behind him, followed by Aili, with Xi’an and Burg in back of her. They went down several turns, more than half the prisoners coming up to look at them through the bars at the top of their cells. Aili kept her eyes forward, ignoring them all and she almost shifted into the walk she had used to use when on the base. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t like this,” Mando finally said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were always paranoid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that true, Mando? Were you always paranoid?” Mayfeld mocked before getting scared by a prisoner banging against his cell door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s usually a reason for being paranoid, like staging a prison break on a ship manned by droids,” Aili said. She wasn’t enjoying this job and it wasn’t just because of the shitty company that she didn’t trust for anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You saying you’re paranoid too?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No because I have a plan for </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span> that could go wrong,” Aili made sure to stare at Mayfeld in the eye as she spoke, just in case he had figured out who she was. She was also hoping that the way she had taken down Burg in under a minute in a tight space was enough to convince them to not cross her and Mando. She smirked a little when he flinched under her gaze and looked away quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Approaching control room. Make a left at the next juncture.” Zero’s voice broke the silent staring contest between Aili and Mayfeld. They hugged the wall, Mayfeld at the front as he peeked around the corner. He gestured for Mando to move to the next small alcove who did as quickly and quietly as he could, gesturing for Mayfeld to move as well. When nothing came down the hallway, they started walking down the center when a small droid came down the hall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone stopped and stared at the droid, unsure what kind it was. Aili couldn’t see it very well but it wasn’t shooting at them yet so she assumed it was a--</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just a little mousey,” Burg said, chuckling at the way everyone had been prepared to shoot or throw a knife at it. Repair droid, if they didn’t alarm it, it shouldn’t call for the guard droids. Burg leaned down, pulling a blaster from a holster as he did. “Come here little mousey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Burg, come on, Burg.” Mayfeld tried to get the Devaronian to leave the small droid alone. They were wasting time and it was a repair droid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, leave it alone,” Aili said in a hushed tone when Burg kept going after the retreating droid. Burg growled and stood to his full height before shooting the droid. Aili threw her hands up and immediately moved for cover, dragging Mando along with her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Mando whispered to her while still letting her pull him along. He stood behind her as if that would protect her from what was going to be coming their way soon. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He just fucked us, is what.” Aili said, getting her blaster ready. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Burg, what are you doing?” Mayfeld questioned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Burg shrugged like the giant idiot he was and that was when the security droids came from the other end of the hallway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Intruder alert. Open fire.” The lead droid said and the four droids started firing on them. Mando and Aili were already behind cover and they started shooting at the droids to give the others time to make it behind cover as well. They didn’t do any damage, the droids own blaster shots blocking theirs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re too exposed here!” Xi’an exclaimed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If they get a signal out, it’s not gonna matter!” Mayfeld tried to shoot the droid closest to his side again but it did nothing. A blaster arm extended from his back and started shooting so he could stay in cover. “Mando, let’s go! You’re supposed to be somethin’ special.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili turned slightly to look up at Mando and was taken aback to see empty space. She hadn’t even heard him leave nor had he told her. “What the kriff?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She growled and peeked over the edge of the wall to see how close the droids were and her brow furrowed when she saw Mando come out from behind them. He took out his vibroblade and rushed forward, sliding down on his side to slice one of the droid's feet which sent it to the ground. He got up, kicking another droid down before shooting the third from up close. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The droid he had cut shot him in the back but the shot glanced off the beskar and Mando turned to shoot it instead. One of the remaining droids pushed Mando against a cell door, aiming a punch at his helmet but he moved to the side in time for it to completely miss him, hitting the cell instead. He ducked several more punches before he pulled out the vibroblade that Aili hadn’t even noticed in the droid’s torso and he threw it into another droid’s head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili would never admit to anyone who asked but she was impressed...and a little turned on. She stood back and watched as Mando took down the droids solo, mouth open a little as she stared. She hadn't really been able to see him actually fight since joining him on the Razor Crest. Sorgan didn't count since it had been so dark and he had been giving Cara cover fire. And obviously he hadn’t even gotten close to Fennec Shand before she took her down. The longer she watched the worse the growing feeling in her chest got. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the droids knocked him down but he released his whipcord and pulled the droid in. It knocked against the other one as he did and they both went down. He pulled on the cord and the droid’s head came off rolling past Xi’an and Mayfeld. The last two droids came towards him, getting a few shots off before Mando turned on his flamethrower and used his whipcord again to pull one down, take it’s blaster and hit the last droid over the head, followed by slamming the blaster into its knee joint. Once it was down, he shot a hole clean through the droid's head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck,” Aili whispered to herself right as Mando took down the last droid. She didn't have time for this, they had a job to do. But she did have a bottle of whiskey on the Crest that she would be hitting after this. Nothing drowned away inappropriate feelings like alcohol did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Make sure you clean up your mess,” Mayfeld said as he walked past Mando. Burg made sure to knock against his shoulder as he went past making Aili roll her eyes once again. She walked over to Mando, stepping over a few droid pieces as she did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You did not hear this from me but, um, good job.” She didn’t wait to see if Mando said anything before she took off after the rest of the crew. Maybe not seeing him in front of her would help the now inappropriate thoughts she was having go away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It seems your presence has been detected. Redirecting security alert away from your position.” Zero said over the comms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seems the useless droid was done being utterly useless now. They turned one last corner and met a closed door. “Z, open the door!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I am detecting an organic lifeform.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right, all right, open the door anyway!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door opened and they all rushed in only to stop in their tracks. “Stop! Just stop right there.” It was a New Republic soldier and he was holding a blaster towards them. Aili slowly put her blaster away and held her hands up in a placating manner, lightly nudging Mando to do the same. He didn’t do as she wanted and she let out an annoyed sigh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You put the blasters away right now,” he said, hand and voice shaking. Mayfeld started to mock the man’s uniform, Xi’an and Burg laughing at his lame jokes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There were only supposed to be droids on this ship,” Mando said. Aili side stepped around Mando so she could catch the soldier’s eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, we’re just looking for someone and then we’ll be gone. Won’t even know we were here,” Aili said gently. She kept her hands up so he could see she was unarmed and she hoped that would calm him down enough. She wasn’t paying attention to Mayfeld getting the cell location or the way that everyone still had their weapons out. She only cared about making sure this man stayed alive. This hadn’t been part of the job description. He looked at her, eyes still wide in fear but he did lower his blaster just a little. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then Mayfeld had to screw it up by turning around. “And now for our well-dressed friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili closed her eyes for half a second when the soldier pulled out a tracking beacon. “Please don’t do that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Put it down now!” Mayfeld shouted, pulling a blaster out and aiming it at the soldier. Aili pulled out her own blaster and aimed it at Mayfeld, Mando doing the same. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Easy. Nobody has to get hurt here, just calm down,” Mando said as if that was going to calm either Mayfeld or the soldier down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is that thing?” Burg asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A tracking beacon, honestly you call yourself a merc,” Aili muttered the last part to herself once again wondering how she had gotten herself into this situation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He presses that thing and we’re all done. A New Republic attack squad will hone in on the signal and blow us all to hell,” Mayfeld hissed out, finger moving closer to the trigger before pausing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you serious?” Xi’an questioned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, so maybe everyone here needs to calm down and put the blasters away!” Aili exclaimed, despite the fact that she still had hers on Mayfeld. She didn’t trust him to not shoot the soldier and she subtly tried to move between the two men when Mando’s t-visor turned to her and he slowly shook his head. She pursed her lips in annoyance but stayed where she was for now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t think we needed to know that tiny little detail?” Xi’an aimed the question at Mayfeld.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t think we’d get to this point,” Mayfeld said, his voice taking on an angrier tone and Aili hoped that he just kept his finger off the trigger for a little while longer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yet here we are,” Xi’an said, continuing to egg him on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you questioning my managerial skills, Xi’an?” Mayfeld asked, turning away from the soldier which gave Aili the opening she needed to get between the soldier and Mayfeld, blaster still aiming at Mayfeld as she moved. Thankfully the soldier didn’t take that as a threat and he didn’t press down on the button. She ignored the way that Mando whispered her name to get her to stop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, listen to me. You do not have to do this, okay? I want you to get out of this alive,” Aili said, slowly putting her blaster away again and gesturing for Mando to do the same. This time he listened to her and did as she asked. “Everyone is going to put their weapons away, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you crazy?” Mayfeld asked, turning back to face her, his blaster still out and now pointed at her. He had it aimed mostly towards her chest so she wasn’t too worried about getting shot just yet since it would hopefully glance off her beskar cuirass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you?” Aili asked Mayfeld before turning back to the soldier, he looked like a kid to her, “What’s your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stuttered a few times before he could answer her clearly, “It’s Davan.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Davan. That’s a nice name, right Mando?” She turned her head slightly to look at the Mandalorian with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes and a eyes a little wider than normal. She knew they had to de-escalate the situation now, she was the only one who was close enough to see the beacon in his hands. If anyone that was threatening him so much as got too close to him...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Mando said a little awkwardly. “Listen, Davan, we’re not here for you. We’re just here for a prisoner. You let us get him, you can walk away with your life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No he won’t.” Mayfeld pulled his blaster out again which made the soldier aim his blaster at Mayfeld as well as lift the beacon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes he will,” Aili spun to face Mayfeld, standing side by side with the soldier now. “Or I will take you down just as fast as I took down Burg only you won’t be getting up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mayfeld stared at Aili for a second before aiming his blaster at her instead. It would be too close for even her beskar to help her from having some kind of injury. Mando brought his own blaster back up and pointed it at Mayfeld who brought out his second one to aim at Mando. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You realize what you’re going to bring down on us?” Mando asked, voice low with anger. No one could see the look in his eyes, the rage at the sight of Mayfeld pointing his blaster at Aili. It brought back the anger he had felt on Tatooine when facing down Toro and he didn’t know where Aili was. This was worse, seeing a blaster actually pointed at her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think I care about that?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re not killing anybody. You understand?” Mando wasn’t actually asking Mayfeld, he was telling him now even if Mayfeld didn’t know it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get that blaster outta my face, Mando, and call off your loth-cat before I shoot you both,” Mayfeld growled out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t do that,” Mando replied shortly. He barely held back from pulling the trigger right that second. Aili let out a huff under her breath and pulled her blaster out again, aiming it towards Mayfeld’s stomach. It was his mistake not wearing any armor or any kind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get that blaster outta my face Mando!” Mayfeld shouted, not even noticing that Aili now had her own on him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey don’t even think about it,” Mando said when Burg pulled his own blaster on him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili was about to just shoot Mayfeld when Xi’an threw her knife and killed the soldier, the blade grazing against Aili’s arm before it hit it’s target. “You idiot!” Aili shouted, kneeling down to see if the soldier was dead or alive. She cursed when she checked for a pulse and found none.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, princess? Sad a New Republic soldier is dead?” Xi’an questioned, a smirk on her face as she watched Aili check for a pulse. She wouldn’t find one, Xi’an knew where to aim to kill in one shot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No you moron, he already had the beacon activated with a dead man’s switch so now we have fuck knows how long to get the hell off this ship or we’re all dead,” Aili explained, pointing to where the beacon had fallen when the soldier had. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all looked down at the beacon that was now blinking red. “Was that thing blinking before?” Mayfeld asked, looking at everyone other than Aili in the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili growled under her breath and picked up the tracking beacon, hoping that they could make it back to the ship and toss it out in the middle of space before they jumped into hyperspace. That would throw the New Republic off their trail. Mando came over to her and silently gestured for her to hold her arm out. She looked at him in confusion until he pointed to her arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kriff,” she said under her breath. She hadn’t even noticed that Xi’an had cut her too when she tossed the knife. It had gone clean through her sleeve too. She held her arm out for Mando to put a bacta patch on the cut, thankfully it wasn’t a big cut or very deep but it was still bleeding. Neither of them said anything while Mando placed the patch, and neither of them commented on the way Aili took in a breath when his fingers paused while making sure it was secure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zero to Mayfeld, Zero to Mayfeld.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Mayfeld said harshly into his comm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I've detected a New Republic distress signal homing in on your location, you have approximately twenty minutes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We only need five,” Xi’an said as if she hadn’t just royally screwed them. She all but skipped out of the room, Mayfeld and Burg rushing after her. Aili grabbed Mando by the arm before he could leave as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re going to screw us over, I know they are. Take this.” She shoved the beacon in his hands before running in the direction the others had gone in. She could hear him run after her and they caught up with the others quickly. There was a hover security droid and Aili winced knowing those weren’t easy to take down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Burg rushed forward and took down the one hover security droid with no problem, tossing it into a second one and just smiling as they both exploded. They kept going down the hallway until Mayfeld stopped at the cell they were looking for. He got Zero to work on opening it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have fifteen minutes remaining.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Open it up!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite Zero’s slight protest, he still opened up the cell to reveal the associate of the crew that had been arrested. It was another Twi’lek and Aili watched as Mando stepped forward a little to get a better look. “Qin.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Twi’lek let out a sort of dark chuckle as he stood up. “Funny, the man who left me behind is now my savior.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili didn’t like this, didn’t like how close Mando was to the open cell, didn’t like the way that Burg had tried and failed to subtly shift closer to her. She took another glance at Qin, taking in all of his scars and she shifted her feet as quietly as she could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando,” Qin said, looking the Mandalorian up and down with a smirk on his face. Mando didn’t say anything in reply which didn’t surprise Aili. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Imagine how much money we’ll get,” Xi’an suddenly giggled out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rescuing your brother from here?” Aili questioned, raising an eyebrow. She had quickly seen the similarities between Xi’an and this Qin guy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, when we sell you two out,” Mayfeld stated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili ducked under Burg’s arms before he could grab her and did a quick roll away from someone’s blaster shot. She heard Mando let out a grunt followed by the sound of the cell shutting again. Kriff. They locked him in there and now she was on her own. Good thing she had memorized all of the turns they had made before then. She didn’t spare a glance at anyone before she shot up to her feet and took off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She found an alcove that would keep her hidden from them just in time. She heard several pounding footsteps come to a stop nearby and she stood as still as possible. “Find her! We’re not leaving until she’s in that cell too! She's worth more than Mando!” That was Mayfeld and now Aili knew he had figured her out back before they even made it to the ship. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili waited until she heard everyone go in a different direction before pulling her comlink out of her pocket. “Mando, do you read me?” She kept her voice hushed but loud enough that he should be able to hear her clearly in his helmet comm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a long silence that she hoped was just him trying to remember where he put the button to operate his own comlink. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I read you." From the other end of the comlink, Mando let out a small sigh knowing that they hadn't grabbed Aili yet. He didn’t know if they would even try to get her in the same cell as him or just shove her into the nearest one. He didn’t even want to think about the other prisoners locked up on the ship. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you get out of that cell or should I head back that way?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m already out. Get back to the ship, I can handle them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Copy that,” Aili didn’t wait another moment, running out of the alcove and retracing her steps as best as she could. The problem was that she could hear the others ahead of her and she silently cursed, hiding behind a wall. They were arguing about Mando getting out and Xi’an shouted at Mayfeld that they should’ve just ended the two of them sooner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She let out a breath when they were suddenly moving again, further away from her but now she heard hallways getting blocked off. “Kriffin’ hell, Mando. I’m not even back to the ship yet.” The lights suddenly shut off, the backup generator kicking on soon after and bathing everything in red light. She partially hoped that the others had made it through but then she heard Xi’an and Burg both let out shouts. She silently cursed to herself knowing that they would be on high alert, she glanced around before she looked up and smirked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zero! We need a path.” Xi’an paused but got no reply causing her and Burg to yell out again. Aili smiled to herself, Mando must have done something to mess with their comlinks meaning they were flying blind now. She doubted any of them had even bothered to remember which way was which, figuring they could rely on the droid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t take long for her to run back down the hall and find a spot where she could climb up into the vents. She had just gotten her feet up when Xi’an and Burg started walking down the hallway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You get Mando, I’ll find the little loth-cat,” Xi’an said, pulling out one of her many knives. Aili rolled her eyes knowing that Mando would be able to handle Burg so she’d just have to take on Xi’an. And then it would only be Mayfeld and Qin left but if they were smart, they wouldn’t attempt to fight them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili followed after Xi’an from above, waiting for her moment when she heard Mando and Burg fighting. She raised an eyebrow because how Mando didn’t get the jump on Burg was a mystery to her when everything was obviously so perfectly lined up to do so. She saw Xi’an flip her knife into a different hold and knew she didn’t have any more time to waste. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! Looking for me?” Aili shouted, smiling down at Xi’an when she looked up in surprise. Aili didn’t wait for Xi’an to respond before she took off down the hallway, away from Mando and back towards where she had left herself an opening. She could hear Xi’an following after her like the idiot she clearly was and she was quick to swing herself back down, boots hitting Xi’an square in the chest and sending her to the floor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili landed on her feet and waited for Xi’an to get back up, pulling out a small vibroblade of her own. “That was a mistake, loth-cat. I was going to let you live,” Xi’an said as she finally stood up straight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Funny, I didn’t get that impression,” Aili stated, flipping her blade around to hold it in a reverse grip. She chose to keep talking in an attempt to throw Xi’an off and she knew exactly what to say to piss her off the most even if it wasn’t necessarily true. “In fact, you seem to want me dead, why is that? Is it because Mando has someone not crazy in his bed now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Xi’an let out a snarl before rushing towards Aili, throwing a punch that Aili easily blocked with her forearm. She threw her own punch with the hand not holding the blade, landing a hit which seemed to just make the Twi’lek even more angry as the punch made her bring a hand up to her jaw. She tried to kick out at Aili who blocked it easily before blocking the following punch as well before she backhanded Xi’an who looked at her in shocked anger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was another kick aimed at Aili who used her height to her advantage as she ducked under and away from Xi’an without trouble. Aili grabbed at Xi’an’s wrist, spinning around before throwing her elbow into the Twi’lek’s face, turning back around to pull her arm out before bringing a knee up into Xi’an’s chest. Xi’an tried to throw another punch at Aili’s but she simply used her grip on Xi’an’s arm to come behind her, kneeing her in the back and sending her forward. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili rushed forward, a slightly stupid move on her part, as Xi’an held her arm out to hit Aili in the throat and sent her to the ground. Aili rolled over and got to her feet just in time to block a kick from Xi’an, aiming her own at the Twi’lek but she moved to the side and hit Aili on the back with enough force to send her into a wall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili turned to throw a punch at Xi’an but winced when the Twi’lek grabbed her arm tightly and started to twist it. Aili tried to throw her other arm out to hit Xi’an but missed when the Twi’lek ducked under and pushed her into the wall behind them, her arm across Aili’s throat and a knife too close to cutting her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think you’re so special,” Xi’an snarled out. “Because you’re a Dragon? Because you’ve got Mando teaching you? I’m gonna kill you and then I’m going to get back to the ship and get that little green thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think he really has anything to teach me that I don’t already know?” Aili questioned before shoving Xi’an off of her, a hand gripping one of theTwi’lek’s hands. She brought her elbow down into Xi’an’s face before she spun and did a partial cartwheel which led to Xi’an being forced into a flip of her own. The only difference was that Aili landed on her feet while Xi’an ended up on her back. Aili barely waited for Xi’an to get back up before she kicked the Twi’lek straight in the chest and sent her further down the hallway groaning in pain. That was what she got for not wearing any kind of armor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili walked over to where Xi’an was just picking herself up from the floor. The Twi’lek was baring her teeth as she pulled out a second knife. “I’m going to make you wish you had stayed away from Mando.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh believe me, I already was,” Aili replied as she blocked both of Xi’an’s knives, gripping her wrists and twisting until the Twi’lek had no choice but to drop her weapons. “See now you’ve pissed me off, I don’t give a kriff what you try to do to me but you threaten the kid?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pushed Xi’an away just enough to let her turn the Twi’lek away from her, giving Aili the chance to wrap her arm around Xi’an’s neck. She ignored the way Xi’an tried to claw at her arm, her nails barely doing any damage. Aili was barely paying any attention to that or her surroundings anyway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aili, stop!” Mando shouted as he turned the corner right before Xi’an lost consciousness. She had stopped fighting a few seconds ago but was still hanging on to being aware. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d like to avoid anyone else dying,” Mando explained. The New Republic soldier was the only death he wanted on the ship and even that was more than he had wanted on this job. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, where do you want her?” AIli asked, loosening the arm around Xi’an’s neck before she grabbed the Twi’lek’s arms instead to keep her from grabbing any weapons. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll take her."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili pursed her lips but pushed Xi’an into Mando’s arms anyway, watching as he turned to take her away from the hallway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Xi’an let out a crazed giggle, not able to stop herself from making one last comment, “Seems you haven’t changed one bit, Mando. Still prefer an animal to a human in bed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili’s head snapped up and she barely restrained herself from lunging at the Twi’lek again. Her words made an old memory come to the front of Aili's mind and she felt the heat of anger on her cheeks. Mando knocked his blaster across Xi’an’s head, knocking her out before she could say anything else. She barely noticed as Mando disappeared around the corner and she was still staring at a spot on the wall when he got back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We need to get back to the ship," Mando said as soon as he got back to where he had left Aili. He was a little surprised that she hadn't so much as moved a muscle. He placed a hand on her shoulder but pulled it away when she flinched away more violently than she ever had before. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next chapter is going to see the story upped to an E but I will add a note at the bottom of the chapter to summarize the actual plot that is written if you don't like to read E-related things</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter Fifteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Aili and Mando finish the job as quickly as they can, the tracking beacon still counting down. And after the job they have a small...heart to heart of sorts, fueled by just a little alcohol on Aili's part but only enough to lower her inhibitions.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you would like to skip over all the smut, I put a summary of the additional backstory I added for Aili in a note at the bottom of the chapter. Everything before then follows canon for Episode 6 except Aili shoots Zero and knocks out Qin.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Watch my back while we look for Mayfeld and Qin,” Mando said, still unsure what Aili's problem was at the moment. She hadn’t said much after he stopped her from potentially killing Xi’an, not something he would’ve faulted her for, but it was odd to hear her so quiet now. He doubted it had anything to do with him stopping her but he still barely understood anything about how her mind worked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” he stopped her before they continued down the hallway, avoiding touching her for now. Mayfeld and Qin couldn’t get very far anyway with the doorways leading to the ship shut until he opened them. Aili hesitated before looking up at him, dark brown eyes meeting his own like she always managed to. “You good?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine. I’ll keep any security off us,” Aili said, looking away just as quickly as she had looked up. She focused on her blaster, making sure it was okay after her scuffle with Xi’an. “We should move, not a lot of time left on that beacon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve been keeping track?” Mando was a little surprised she had been able to do so when she had been so focused on keeping Xi’an in a chokehold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You haven’t been?” Aili asked, giving Mando a look that was almost like her normal attitude towards him. But he could still tell she was a little more guarded now and he didn’t understand why. But they really didn’t have the time for him to question her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They hurried down the hallways as quickly as they could while keeping quiet. The last thing they needed was to give their position away to Mayfeld and his several blasters. Aili stood back as Mando snuck up on Mayfeld, hiding behind a wall when he spun around to look down the hallway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” She heard Mayfeld shout right before he hit the ground and she stepped out from behind her spot to raise an eyebrow. There he was just on the ground, hadn’t even fought. Boring. Mando looked over to her before starting to drag Mayfeld down the hallway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You stop Qin, I’ll be there soon,” Mando said, hesitating for a moment like he was going to say something else before he shook his head and kept dragging Mayfeld down the hallway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili nodded and took off for the hallway that held the ladder that would lead back into the Crest, blaster out in case there were any more security droids or if Qin popped out from around a corner. It didn’t take long for her to spot Qin getting ready to start climbing the ladder to the Crest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Qin, was it?” Aili asked, leaning against a wall and looking at Xi’an’s brother with an almost manic smile. It didn’t reach her eyes in the slightest. The Twi’lek let out a sigh before dropping down from the ladder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two killed the others.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili didn’t bother to answer, simply tilting her head to the side with that smile still on her face. It wasn’t like he was asking her a question. No, he had stated it like he expected nothing less from Mando or the company he kept. So who was she to even attempt to give him an answer?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They got what they deserved,” Mando suddenly said from behind her but Aili didn’t even flinch this time. Qin let out a snarl and turned to attack them, Mando pulling out his blaster and pointing it at the Twi’lek while Aili kept hers holstered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t if I were you before I do to you what I did to your sister,” Aili stated, her words implying much worse than she actually did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You kill me, you don’t get your money. Whatever Ran promised, I’ll make you get it, and more.” Qin stepped forwards once, tossing his blaster down to the ground. “Come on Mando, be reasonable. You were hired to do a job, right?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I please just knock him out?” Aili muttered mostly to herself but still loud enough for Mando to hear her. Qin looked over at her before back to Mando, holding his hands out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do the job. Isn’t that your code? Aren’t you a man of honor?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He is. I’m not,” Aili said before stepping forward and punching Qin across the face harder than she had hit Mayfeld back at the hangar. Sure, the hit made her knuckles hurt a little but now Qin was unconscious and wouldn’t be able to piss her off more. But most importantly, he was still alive. Mando let out a heavy sigh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t want that to happen, you would have held me back,” Aili said, looking over at Mando with a blank look on her face. Mando didn’t say anything to deny her statement because she was right. He could have held her back even if she fought against his hold. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get on the ship, make sure the droid is ready to go.” Mando said shortly. “I’ll get him on board.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili didn’t have to be told twice as she stepped over Qin’s unconscious form and climbed the ladder quickly. She had barely placed both feet onto the ship’s floor when she spotted the droid in front of the now open hatch that led to the cot. Another glance let her know that it was holding a blaster and had it pointed at Little Green. She didn’t wait to ask questions, pulling her blaster out of its holster and shooting the droid. So now she or Mando would have to pilot the ship, oh well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened?” Mando asked as soon as he tossed Qin on board and against a wall. He shut the hatch below him, sealing the ship off from the prison ship. She watched as he placed the beacon in Qin’s pocket and they both knew he wouldn’t notice it until it was too late. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Droid was going to shoot the kid,” Aili stated, putting her blaster away and picking up Little Green in one smooth movement. “We gotta get outta here and into hyperspace. Now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando stayed quiet as he moved past her and up the ladder. He quickly unhooked them from the prison ship and sent them into hyperspace. Even with the beacon rapidly counting down, they couldn’t be tracked easily through hyperspace. Aili waited down in the cargo for a moment before heading up into the cockpit to place Little Green into his seat, strapping him in before she took her own seat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cockpit was silent as they got back to the hangar even as they heard Qin wake up at one point. He didn’t come up and they didn’t go down. Mando landed as quickly as he safely could, turning to Aili. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was gone for maybe a minute, getting their payment from Ran before immediately shutting the gangway. Aili didn’t wait for him to get back up to the cockpit, moving into his seat and lifting the landing gear, backing the ship out of the hangar. They had under two minutes to get the hell out of there now that the tracking signal was in a static position. Mando got back up to the cockpit, opting to stand behind his usual seat as he watched Aili dodge around the three New Republic ships that came out of hyperspace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They waited another minute before Aili sent them into hyperspace, no real destination in mind other than away from the space station and the New Republic X-Wings. “I told you that was a bad idea,” Mando said, leaning forward to unscrew the little metal ball that the kid liked so much. Aili narrowed her eyes, unsure who he was talking to but for his sake it better have been directed to Little Green. Because she had been very vocal about her dislike of the plan and distrust of the whole crew. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going down to the cargo hold,” Aili suddenly said, the need to drink away her feelings back with a vengeance. She couldn’t even bring herself to care that they wouldn’t have to ever deal with Ran or Qin again. She didn’t wait for Mando to say anything, leaving the cockpit without another word and sliding down the ladder to go over to the one bag she kept hanging on the wall to keep it out of Little Green’s reach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt a small smile cross her face as she pulled out the bottle and took a long swig of it. It had been almost too long since she had been able to drink anything, too distracted taking care of Little Green and making sure Mando didn’t get them killed. The smile didn’t last very long as she went over everything that had gone wrong on this job. She unclasped the cuirass and set it down on top of one of her other bags, pulling her jacket off as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili took another long swig from the bottle, sliding down the wall to sit down on the still uncomfortable ship floor. She was still pissed. At herself, letting the fuckin’ Twi’lek for calling her an animal get to her, at Mando for even dragging them onto that job. She didn’t even care that she had been the one to tell him that they needed credits, he was the one who found the job so it was more his fault. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was also so wound up that she didn't trust herself to be around Mando for longer than a few minutes at the moment. Which is of course when the galaxy decided to send him her way because they were in hyperspace afterall, not much to do in the cockpit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Drinking?” Mando didn’t even try to keep the surprise or disapproval out of his voice. He hadn’t even known that she had brought alcohol onto the ship. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Corellian whiskey, want some? It’s not as good as Tevraki whiskey but it’s all I had.” Aili held the bottle out towards him, knowing he wouldn’t accept it anyway. Couldn’t remove the helmet for even a drink in front of someone breathing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tevraki whiskey isn’t fully human-compatible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh look at the man too scared to live dangerously,” Aili mocked. “You’re the one that used to fuck that Twi and she’s an </span>
  <em>
    <span>aikiyc chakaar</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you drunk?” Mando asked, eyes narrowed behind his helmet trying to decide if Aili was or wasn’t already drunk. He had no idea how much she had already had to drink but he knew he didn’t want to deal with a drunk, pissed off Aili. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give me that.” Mando moved towards her, faster than she expected, and reached out to take the bottle away from her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” Aili shouted, tightening her grip on the neck of the bottle before Mando could take it from her. She leaned to the side to move away from him but leaned too far towards empty space. They both went tumbling onto the ground, Aili’s head banging against the floor while Mando’s helmet thumped against the wall. Other than that they were fine. The bottle of whiskey, on the other hand, was not. It didn’t break but now there was wasted whiskey on the floor. Aili let out a growl and pushed herself back to her feet and she stared up at Mando with a heated glare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stared at him, chest heaving as she tried to decide how angry she was. “Where’s the kid?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At first she asked only so that she could kick Mando’s ass but then she had a better idea for the anger and other feelings she had felt building up from the moment they had landed on the prison ship. She only hoped that she could egg him on enough. Hoped that he would take the bait and she could work off the extra energy. She also wasn’t as blind as he seemed to think she was and not even he could hide it behind his helmet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The helmet cocked to the side before he answered, “Asleep in the cockpit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili took one more moment to make up her mind before looking at Mando straight on, an unreadable expression on her face, "Good. Turn off the lights."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Mando was taken aback, unsure why Aili would want the lights off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Turn off. The Lights.” Aili repeated herself, tilting her head a little. He slowly hit the button on his vambrace that would turn the lights off and then they were standing in the pitch blackness of the hangar. She spoke again, her voice steady and just a little darker than usual, "Take off your helmet."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She waited and was rewarded when she heard the sound of metal being placed down on the floor. She was surprised he didn’t argue but maybe he thought she was going to punch him and didn't want her to break her hand on the beskar. If only he knew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gave him another few seconds to stand up straight again before she grabbed out for him, pulling him into her and giving him a harsh kiss. She was a little impressed that she had gotten his lips on the first try but it wasn’t that hard to estimate where they were based on his height in comparison to her. He responded for about half a second, leather clad hands going to her hips and squeezing before he pulled away like he had been burned. “What are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you think I'm doing?” Aili asked, breath hot against his face and it took all his self control to not give in again. It had been so long...but he knew she wasn’t in her right mind. Why else would she want him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Making a mistake.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili pushed herself up on her toes to speak into his ear, "You can either fuck me right now or take me down to a planet so I can find someone with the balls to do it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not,” Mando paused, swallowing hard at the thought of... “You’re not in charge here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Somebody has to be and you’re clearly not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret tomorrow,” Mando said, trying to force himself to walk away. He didn’t know if he could, not when he had more than one thought running through his head and none of them were helpful. Not when he felt like this was a long time coming. Not when he still had his hands on her hips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think I’m actually drunk so let me reassure you; I am not drunk and I am telling, not asking, you to fuck me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian didn’t respond and Aili was already annoyed, ready to push him away and sent a course for the first planet she could think of. She went to say something else when a hand wrapped around her throat with no real pressure behind the grip. She let out a quiet gasp in surprise. “Is that what you want?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pushed her back against the wall, one thigh between her legs now. Aili let out a sound between a gasp and a whine as she rubbed herself on his beskar-covered thigh and the Mandalorian chuckled. The sound went straight to Aili’s core making her need it more. “Thought you didn’t like getting fucked against walls.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.” She didn’t need him using her own words against her, especially not something she had said literally months ago. How he even remembered that was beyond her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was that?” He asked, putting the barest amount of pressure on her throat, his thumb pressing down on her carotid just enough for her to feel it. Aili let out a breathy sound but that didn’t mean she was going to back down. Not when she was getting exactly what she wanted without even needing to try that hard. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You heard me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keep talking back and you can get yourself off,” Mando said, squeezing the hand around her throat just a little. Just enough for her to feel it and for him to feel as she swallowed. Which gave him an idea for another time, if another time ever happened of course. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll shut up,” Aili started, a smirk that he couldn’t see crossing her face. “Sir.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian let out a surprising growl before he removed his hand from her throat in order to use both hands to pick her up by her thighs and slam her against the wall. Aili let out a dark chuckle, “That’s more like it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keep that mouth shut before I find a use for it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Promise?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He removed one hand from her thighs and pulled her in by the back of her neck. Their lips met in a fiery crash and Mando forced Aili’s mouth open to deepen the kiss. They eventually parted and Aili knew she had made the right choice egging him on. She could feel his arousal against her own and if it were even possible, she felt herself get more turned on. She purposely ground herself against his still-covered cock and she smirked at the low groan he let out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando lowered her back down to the ground. “Take off your clothes.” His voice was raspy and Aili didn’t think her smirk would ever leave her face. But she did as she was told, letting him think he was calling the shots for now. As soon as she dropped her last piece of clothing onto the ground, Mando pushed her against the wall again and she let out a hiss at how cold both the wall and his armor were against her now bare skin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to fuck you against this wall and you’re going to take it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know you still seem like a lot of talk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando let out a long sigh, picking up one of her legs and hooking it around his hip rather than responding. Aili let out a gasp, she hadn’t even noticed that he had unzipped his pants and now his own arousal was rubbing against hers. Fuck he was big. She wished she could see it but that wouldn’t happen any time soon. But still, even just feeling it was enough to make her clench around nothing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando moved to get into a more comfortable position, his cock rubbing against Aili again. They both let out groans at the feeling and Aili hoped he would get on with it before she took matters into her own hands. Literally. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck, you’re so wet,” Mando groaned out. He wrapped a hand around his arousal and pumped it a few times, using her wetness to coat it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando,” Aili sighed out, needing more than he was giving her right now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Be patient.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m done being patient,” Aili growled, using the leg he had hooked around his hip to bring him in closer if it were even possible. Mando was quick to bring his other hand to grip the back of her neck again, holding her in place for now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” That was all he said before letting go of his cock and bringing his hand to Aili’s cunt. He wasn’t going to fuck her unless she was prepared first. He wasn’t that cruel. She let out a gasp when he entered one finger and she was belatedly thankful that he had at least removed his gloves. The rest of the armor being on though? That was doing things for her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando pumped his finger a few times before adding a second one, thrusting them in at a faster pace to work Aili towards her first orgasm. She grabbed at his arms and let out a loud moan. Why were his fingers so big? “Mando, please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never thought I’d hear you beg me,” he said before adding another finger and pushing his thumb against her clit and alternating between pumping his fingers in her heat and rubbing at her throbbing clit. “I want you to come for me first, </span>
  <em>
    <span>mesh'la</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t take long for Aili to clench down on his fingers, her hands tightening on his arms as her orgasm hit her. He worked her through it, pushing his fingers in and out until she sagged against him as the high faded away. Aili caught her breath, she knew it had been a while but she still wanted, no, needed more. “Are you going to fuck me now like I asked?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just don’t know when to shut up, do you?” Mando asked, pulling his fingers out. He figured she was ready enough and he moved her into her earlier position. Up against the wall, both feet off the ground as he held her up by her thighs which were loosely wrapped around his waist. Kriff, she was so small in comparison to him, he thought to himself before shaking the thought away. He grabbed his cock with one hand and lined himself up with her cunt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I did shut up, we wouldn’t be-” She was cut off by Mando completely sheathing himself into her with more speed than she had expected. She let out a loud gasp followed by a moan at the intrusion. Mando let out one just as loud as her wet heat enveloped his cock. It was better than he had expected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando chuckled, the sound right at her ear. “That shut you up, didn’t it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He set a brutal pace, barely giving Aili enough time to catch her breath. She wrapped her hands around the back of his neck, unsure if her legs would give out and fall from their place around his waist even as she tried to lock her ankles together. Even with the pace he set, it wasn’t enough for her. “Harder.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He obliged without saying a word, hands gripping at the back of her thighs so hard that she was sure she would have bruises when she woke up. The cargo hold was filled with too many sounds all at once, moans and grunts as well as the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Aili clenched without meaning to and Mando let out a curse. It felt so much better around his cock than it did his fingers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck, Mando,” Aili cried out, thighs twitching and tightening around his waist in intervals as little shocks went through her body. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ibac’ner, cyar’ika.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Mando breathed out without meaning to, not even caring that he knew Aili knew some Mando’a. He doubted she had ever learned those words, probably only focusing on insults. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck,” Aili gasped out when Mando hit a spot inside of her that made her see stars even in the darkness of the cargo hold. She knew this would be better than finding some idiot in a cantina who wouldn’t even fuck her right. She didn’t even know what the kriff he was saying in Mando’a but she found didn’t care at the moment. “Ri-right, right there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando adjusted his grip on her thighs, making it easier for him to angle his thrusts just right. He hit the spot with every push inside of her, sending her closer to a second orgasm. He was close too but he didn’t know where to come. Part of him, a part he usually kept deep below the surface, wanted to come inside but he couldn’t, </span>
  <em>
    <span>wouldn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>, do that without asking and so he did before he could stop himself, “Where-where do you want me to come?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Inside, fuck, inside,” Aili groaned, her nails digging into his back as she felt her orgasm coming again. The thought of him coming inside of her was almost enough to push her over the edge. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando was pretty sure he had heard wrong and his hips stuttered at the thought. There was no way she had...“Are you sure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando, I swear to the Maker,” her words trailed off when he hit that spot again and she swore she saw a whole galaxy as she hit her peak for the second time that night. Mando kept pumping inside of her, working her through it once more until he felt his own climax coming. It only took a few more thrusts before he was releasing inside of her, a groan escaping him at the feeling. He usually wasn’t allowed to come inside and the thought of doing it now was too much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili held onto Mando’s shoulders, still coming down from her high. Her breath coming out in pants along with the Mandalorian’s. He had placed his forehead in the crook of her neck, his hot breath almost too much for her to handle. They stayed like that for a few minutes trying to catch their breath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” Mando asked, his unfiltered voice still weird to Aili’s ears but she found that she preferred it to the voice modulator. No, she wasn’t going to analyze why that was just yet. Or ever. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m great,” Aili finally said, pulling away from Mando and leaning the back of her head against the wall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando pulled out, letting Aili’s feet touch the ground again, and tucked himself back into his pants. He listened to Aili get dressed and waited until she was done to speak. “Do you want to tell me what that was about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this your idea of pillow talk because I don’t see any pillows,” Aili said, hoping she could talk her way out of explaining the literal storm going through her mind at the moment. The fact that she had probably just screwed up their semi-professional relationship was one of the last things on her mind but it was still there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando let out a deep sigh. “It’s pitch black in here, you can’t see shit anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili paused for a long minute, trying to weigh her options. Either way would make her seem weak but what did she really have to lose now? They had already fucked. “I’m not an animal,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about? What Xi’an said?” Mando was actually surprised. He had noticed that Aili had all but shut down after Xi’an had called her that but he hadn’t thought it was this bad. He had simply thought it was like everyone else calling her a loth-cat, that she was just ten levels of angry and annoyed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, yes. It’s complicated.” Aili didn’t know how to explain that it had nothing to do with Xi’an, not really. It didn’t have anything to do with the job, not really although that hadn’t helped at all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If this is because you almost killed her, I don’t care about that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you how I grew up. They...treated us like the fathiers on Canto Bight, just numbers in a system. To be used and then disposed of when we outgrew our use,” Aili let out a chuckle that sounded a little watery to Mando’s ears but he wasn’t about to comment on it when Aili was opening back up. “I never stopped being of use to them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They made me...they made me fight every single girl that made it through basic, the ones without potential by the time they were </span>
  <em>
    <span>eight </span>
  </em>
  <span>they--" Aili had to stop talking, clearing her throat a little. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to tell me.” Mando interrupted now understanding why she had been emotional when telling him how old Sula had been when she destroyed the base. To know that she could have been made to kill a child that was now a foundling in the Covert. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They put a blaster in my hand and told me to kill them because I was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Leader</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Aili spit the word out like it was a curse. For all Mando knew, it could have been back then. “Any time I refused they would shoot me instead and let it bleed for hours before giving me bacta. Eventually I would, I would just kill them, to save myself from the pain. Do you know how fucked up that is?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They treated you like…" He was beginning to understand why she had chosen to not join the Covert or take the Creed. She still felt guilty about being made to hurt and kill children. Probably couldn’t look at the other foundlings without sizing them up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Animals,” Aili interrupted before Mando could keep talking. “You can have the cot tonight, I don’t think I’ll get much sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She made to go back up to the cockpit. “No,” Mando said, reaching out to stop Aili from leaving, a gentle hand on her arm that she surprisingly didn’t shrug off. “You need sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a child?” Aili asked, staring up at the dark space where she assumed Mando was standing based off the hand on her arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't act like one then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili narrowed her eyes knowing that Mando couldn’t see it anyway, “You know this doesn’t change anything between us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t think it would.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili glared at Mando, or the space she was still assuming he was. “Well we can’t just leave Little Green up in the cockpit by himself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Little Green?” Mando asked with a quiet chuckle. That was not the kind of nickname he would have expected from her nor any kind of nickname. She still called the small green alien, “the Child” or even just “the kid” around him and others out loud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was more like it, Mando thought to himself. “I’ll go get him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili didn’t comment on the fact that Mando had left the lights off despite putting his helmet back on. Mando came back down soon enough, handing the kid over to Aili without saying anything. His helmet allowed him to watch as she hesitated before heading over to the cot. He didn’t say anything as she left the hatch open, leaving her an out if she needed to get up fast and he wondered if that was a thing from her life before. Or something she picked up after blowing up an Imperial base and probably making enemies of people she had grown up knowing. The light coming from the hatch was barely enough to make the rest of the cargo hold visible past a few inches but he kept his helmet on as Aili fell asleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He watched as she curled around the kid, Little Green she had called him, and he wondered if that was what it had been like before she found the Covert. If that had been why the Armorer had made the agreement she had, had seen a lost 20-something year old who had no idea how to take care of herself let alone four children that she had saved from a fate worse than death. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He ignored the growing feeling in his chest as he sat down against the ladder leading up to the cockpit, watching over the sleeping pair and hoping they could have at least a little time before the next inevitable shitstorm. He slid his helmet off once more, once he was sure that Aili was asleep, and he just watched and wondered about more than he needed to think about. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Aili backstory summary: During her time as Dragon Leader in the Krayt Program, she was made to fight every child who made it out of basic training. The ones who didn't show promise by the time they were 8, she was made to kill them as an example to the other girls. Any time she refused she was shot instead and made to bleed for hours before they applied bacta because she was still too useful for them to lose. This is why Sula being 8 years old when she destroyed the base was important and why she was a little emotional at the memory of it.</p><p>Mando's translations:<br/>Aikiyc chakaar: desperate petty criminal/corpse robber/thief (take your pick for whichever fits Xi'an best)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter Sixteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mando continues to secretly pine after his travel companion, Aili pretends nothing happened between them and continues to make fun of Mando as often as possible. Then they receive a message that's going to change everything for them, for better or for worse. Might as well pick up a few friends, just in case.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mando leaned against the ladder, watching as Aili played with...Little Green as she had called him. They were playing with the stuffed animals that they had each bought the kid for Life Day. He almost didn’t want to interrupt, seeing her actually smile after the prison ship debacle was a welcome sight. It had been about a solar week since that and...the other thing that had happened but true to her word, nothing had changed between them. The following day Aili had treated him like nothing had happened, like she hadn’t told him things she probably hadn’t ever told anyone else. Like they hadn’t screwed each other against the ship wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No, she woke up, shook him awake and bluntly told him to move so she could take the kid up to the cockpit to eat. Now things had gone back to mostly normal on the Crest. Well except for Mando’s growing feelings that he tried to keep stamped down when he was around the woman he had let in without knowing. Clearly Aili didn’t feel the same otherwise she would tell him...probably. He still barely understood what went on in her mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando shook his thoughts away, that wasn’t why he had come down from the cockpit. He cleared his throat and waited for Aili to look up at him with a single raised eyebrow. Even the kid looked up at him like he was wondering why Mando had interrupted their play time.  “I got a transmission. From Karga.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili stared up at Mando for a long and silent moment, processing what he had just said. Mando tried not to notice how her mouth had fallen open a little, focusing more on the growing incredulity in her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did I know that you hadn’t killed him back when we left Nevarro?” She finally asked, shaking her head as she picked up Little Green and stood up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There wasn’t time to check,” Mando defended himself, throwing his hands out to the side in annoyance. There had been more pressing matters that day like trying to leave before anyone else in the Guild got past the rest of the Covert like Aili had. Although he had gotten his answer on that one once they left atmo, didn’t mean he wanted to take chances. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s always time to check a kill. Have you listened to it yet?” Aili asked before Mando could even try to keep making excuses. She was just messing with him anyway because it was still so incredibly easy. More so now because he clearly...she pushed the thoughts out of her mind for now. No need to go down that path of thought any time soon. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just the beginning to make sure it was really him,” Mando answered, the tone in his voice still sounded a little peeved which made a small smile cross Aili’s face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then let’s go see what he wants because for him to contact us, he must be desperate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They headed up to the cockpit, Mando going up first followed by Aili handing the kid up to him so she could climb up the ladder easier. As soon as she was up in the cockpit, she took Little Green back from Mando. She chose to stand beside Mando’s seat, rocking the kid to sleep since he had been up for a while now without a nap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay let’s hear it," Aili said, giving Mando the go ahead to play the transmission Karga had sent them. When Mando didn’t make a move to play the vidcall, she glanced over to him and was slightly taken aback to see his helmet facing her. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing,” Mando said, turning to toggle the switch that would play the transmission. Aili narrowed her eyes at the Mandalorian before putting her full attention on the hologram of Greef Karga that appeared before them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My friends if you are receiving this transmission that means you are, hopefully both, alive. You might be surprised to hear this, but so am I.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Best in the parsec,” Aili muttered from beside Mando. Little Green had already fallen asleep in her arms but she chose to keep slightly rocking from side to side to make sure he was deep asleep before she put him in his cradle. There had been too many times one of them had thought he was fully asleep only to put him down and have him immediately start crying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess we can call it even. A lot has happened since we last saw each other. The man who hired you, Mando, is still here, and his ranks of ex-Imperial guards have increased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They have imposed despotic rule over my city which has impeded the livelihood of the Guild.” Aili couldn’t stop herself from reaching forward to pause the holo before looking down at Mando with a raised eyebrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He does know we’re not technically Guild anymore, right?” she asked as she walked over to where Mando had placed Little Green’s cradle. She placed the child in it, tucking him in with his blanket and missing the way Mando stared at her again. Even if she had turned to look at him all she would have seen was his blank t-visor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He snapped out of his thoughts as soon as Aili stood up straight again. “Can you just let it finish before making comments?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” Aili said, walking back over to Mando's side and gesturing for him to hit play again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We consider him an enemy, but we cannot get close enough to take him out. If you two would consider one last commission, I will very much make it worth your while.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You both have been successful so far in staving off their hunters but they will not stop until they have their prize.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili opened her mouth to say something but at her intake of breath, Mando turned his helmet to look at her once more. Even with the helmet covering his facial expression, Aili could imagine the look he was giving her. She rolled her eyes and pursed her lips together without saying anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, here is my proposition. Return to Nevarro, bring the Child as bait. I will arrange an exchange and provide loyal Guild members as protection. Once you get near the Client, you kill him, and we both get what we want.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you succeed, you keep the Child and I will have your names cleared with the Guild, for a man of honor and a woman of immeasurable skill should not be forced to live in exile. I await your arrival with optimism.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hologram of Karga disappeared and Mando toggled the switch to completely turn off the receiver. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili waited about a full second before opening her mouth. “Am I allowed to comment now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know this is a trap, right?” Aili asked, arms crossed as she looked down at Mando with a raised eyebrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well as long as you’re aware,” Aili shrugged her shoulders. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando quickly turned his seat to look at Aili, barely having to raise his head up to look at her face. “That’s all you want to say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm, yep, definitely not going to comment on Karga implying I don’t have honor or calling Little Green a “prize” and absolutely not going to make another comment on how you were considered the best bounty hunter in the parsec despite not knowing how to check if the enemy is actually dead before taking off.” That was more like what Mando had been expecting her to say. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anything else?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think that just about covered it,” Aili still paused, thinking about the whole transmission again. Mando absolutely did not notice when her lips moved into a small pout as she thought. “Oh, actually, I absolutely do not like the idea of using Little Green as bait.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't like it either but if it gets the Imps off of us," Mando trailed off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know that. You really think I want Imps knowing where I am? That doesn't mean I have to like this plan," Aili said shortly. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> it was the only real plan they had at the moment. But the thought of using a child as bait caused nausea to settle in her stomach like a poison. She glanced over to where Little Green was sleeping, Mando doing the same. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It'll be fine."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a snort of laughter at Mando’s statement. "You mean like the prison break?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay, that was--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Or the time you decided to help an asshole take on Fennec Shand and I ended up with a concussion?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's not--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, or maybe you mean the time you were going to ditch me and Little Green on Sorgan right as a bounty hunter was about to shoot him until Cara killed him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Are you done yet?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Now I am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good because as stupid as you think I am, we’re going to get help.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never said you were stupid, I don't generally sleep with stupid people. So, Cara?” Aili asked before Mando even had a chance to comment on what she said. She wasn't about to give him that opportunity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes and one more person.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili paused at that, a single thought going through her mind. She understood asking Cara to help but who else could Mando mean? Surely he wasn’t thinking of asking Omera to join them when she had her own child to take care of? She pushed down the ugly feeling trying to claw its way through her chest, she didn’t care, why would she care if he asked Omera to come with them? She swallowed harshly before casually asking, “Who?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He helped me when I first...rescued the kid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh is that what we’re calling it?” Aili asked, raising a single eyebrow. She may not have been there when Mando first got Little Green but she knew about the job. She had turned down even the thought of taking the job from Karga after all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes that's what we're calling it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay, Mando, but I want to meet him before he gets on the ship. Not that I don’t trust your judgement,” Aili stated, looking down at Mando and waiting to see if he would argue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine with me.” Was all he said before turning to put the coordinates for Sorgan into the hyperspace controls and then they were off to their destination. Aili settled into her usual seat and momentarily wondered how many looks they were going to get from Cara by the time they reached Nevarro. Hopefully the other woman would be too distracted by how ancient the Razor Crest was to make any comments like she had back when they were all on Sorgan. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>*Run away to a place where you can breathe*</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>They landed in the same spot as last time which wasn’t surprising since Sorgan obviously still didn’t see any more action than before they left. It was still a backwater skug hole despite the people being more than accommodating. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you think? Common house?” Mando asked as soon as the three of them stepped out of the Crest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All the spotchka you can drink? Of course that’s where she’ll be,” Aili let out a small huff of laughter. She was carrying Little Green in her arms remembering how he had struggled to keep up with them last time and right now time was of the essence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was shouting coming from the common house but it didn’t sound like the usual sounds of a bar fight. They walked in and neither was very surprised to see Cara in the middle of a boxing match with a Zabrak. They were attached by a laser tether and Aili raised an eyebrow in interest as Cara got the upperhand, wrapping the laser around the Zabrak’s throat. It wouldn’t do much to him but he still hit the button on his belt to concede. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The crowd cleared out, more than half giving the bets they had made to Cara including the Zabrak. Aili let out a small scoff at that, honestly who bet on their own match? That was a surefire way to make sure you got cocky and lost the match. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looking for some work?” Mando asked without any preamble. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ignore his crap manners, we were going to offer to buy you a drink first,” Aili interrupted before anyone could say anything else. “Impressive fight, by the way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, this is why you’re the brains to his brawn and thank you, it was an easy fight once he got cocky,” Cara said before nodding over to one of the tables that was clear of anyone nearby. AIli signaled for someone to bring over some spotchka to the table. Mando let out a sigh as he followed from behind the two women, knowing it was better to not argue with either of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando went over the plan with Cara who listened even as she kept drinking. Aili’s attention was mostly on Little Green, keeping him occupied so he wouldn’t try to grab anything on the table or make a mess. “It’s a straightforward operation. They’re providing the plan and the firepower. We’re the snare.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With the kid? And you’re okay with that?” Cara asked, turning to look at Aili with a surprised look on her face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not especially but that’s why we’re coming to you,” Aili replied. She still didn’t like this plan, too many unknown variables for her. She didn’t know who Karga was bringing or if this was all one big trap like she thought it was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, I’ve been advised to lay low. If anyone runs my chain code, I’ll rot in a cell for the rest of my life.” Cara actually sounded a little apologetic as she spoke and Aili couldn’t find it in herself to be completely upset about it. She understood more than Mando ever probably would.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you were a veteren,” Mando trailed off, not understanding what the problem was. Aili was tempted to reach over and pat him on the shoulder for being so dumb sometimes. How this was someone who had chosen to become a bounty hunter was beyond her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been a lot of things since and most of them carry a life sentence. If I so much as get on a ship that’s New Republic…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Trust me, his ship is anything but New Republic.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando kept talking before Cara could ask or Aili could elaborate on how old the Crest was. He already knew everything Aili could possibly say about the ship and they would be there for hours if he let her even start. “Look you help us and we’ll bring you back with a handsome reward and you can live a life free of worry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m already free of worry and I’m not interested in playing soldier anymore. Especially not against some local warlord.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not a local warlord,” Aili looked up at Cara and something about the look in the shorter woman’s eyes made Cara pause. “He’s Imperial. That should tell you the risk I’m taking, now are you in?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you finally told him?” Cara asked, looking back and forth from Aili to Mando with slightly narrowed eyes. She had partially expected Aili to never tell Mando the truth so this was a surprise to her. Almost more than the offer to take down an Imp. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Aili answered, still staring straight at Cara and ignoring the eyes she could feel on her coming from Mando’s side of the table. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara downed her cup in one shot before giving the two of them a smile, “I’m in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They paid for the drinks, well Mando paid after Aili gave him a look, and Cara went to grab her bag before they were off for the Crest. And just like Aili had expected, Cara let out a low whistle when she finally laid her eyes on the ship. “Wow you weren’t kidding, does this thing really still fly?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It does now, you should have seen the gen room when Mando broke it a month or so ago,” Aili said, only partially joking. She’d had nightmares for a good week, waking up mid-sleep cycle worried that she hadn’t fixed a specific wire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, you did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neither of them noticed the look Cara gave them, a slow smile appearing on her face as she wondered when it would be best to make her comments. It was too bad she hadn’t made any bets with either of them but then again, she didn’t think either of them would’ve taken her up on a losing bet anyway. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>*Run away to a place without painful tears*</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does your contact need to vet me?” Cara asked Mando. It was just the two of them and the kid up in the cockpit. Aili had said something about double checking something in the cargo hold but Cara assumed she just didn’t want to catch another almost smug look from her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t know you’re coming,” Mando answered, toggling in another set of coordinates but Cara didn’t pay much attention to them. She figured they were going straight to Nevarro next since the ship was stocked up as it could be already. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? That could be a problem.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It won’t,” Mando said, finally turning around to get up from his seat. “But if it is, that’s his problem.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian walked past Cara and went down the ladder to the cargo hold. He glanced around and let out a quiet sigh of either annoyance or something else when he caught sight of Aili dozing off, sitting up in the cot with her head leaning against the side of the opening. Cara slid down the ladder, dropping down beside him and he was quick to look away. Instead he opened the weapons locker. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is he gonna be okay up there alone?” Cara questioned, looking around for Aili and easily spotting her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’ll be fine.” Mando said shortly knowing that if Aili was actually awake, she’d be giving him a look before heading up to get Little Green before he caused trouble. He turned to Cara who was admiring all of the weapons. “Pick one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara let out a small laugh before immediately grabbing a grenade. “You trust the contact?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really,” Aili sleepily said as she picked her head up from against the cot wall, wincing a little from the awkward angle. “Mando shot him last time he was there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So then why are we going?” Cara questioned, raising her brow in confusion</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t have a choice, you saw what happened on Sorgan. They’ll keep sending hunters.” Mando shrugged a little though it was barely visible through the layers of clothing and armor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kid won’t be safe until the Imp is gone,” Aili hid the small yawn behind her hand. None of them noticed Little Green watching them from the top of the ladder before he disappeared back up into the cockpit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you’re both okay with bringing him back there?” Cara finally picked out the repeating blaster rifle and weighed it in her hands before deciding she liked it best. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Aili said bluntly, scooting out of the still uncomfortable cot and moving to stand near Mando. She still wasn’t awake or aware enough to realize that Little Green was nowhere to be seen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s why we’re bringing you,” Mando said, making to say more when the ship lurched to the side and sent them all sideways. Another lurch sent Cara into the wall across from the ladder while Mando went sideways and bumped into Aili which sent them both against the cot hatch. They barely avoided falling into it which was a good thing because it was not big enough for the both of them to fit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dank farrik, did you leave Little Green up there by himself?” Aili exclaimed, pushing Mando away from her. The Crest never stopped lurching from side to side as Aili scrambled up the ladder, Mando and Cara right behind her. She picked the kid up and away from the pilot’s seat easily and moved to let Mando fix the mess he inadvertently caused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need someone to watch him,” Cara said once the alarms stopped ringing and Mando had untoggled all of the switches the kid had flipped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that was already our next stop,” Mando said, letting out a small sigh once the ship regained stable readings. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I cannot believe you would leave him up here by himself,” Aili stated, staring at the back of Mando’s head with a look of disbelief. For once he didn’t have anything to say to defend himself because he knew Aili was right but he wasn’t about to let her know that so he kept quiet. He simply re-input the coordinates for Arvala-7 and hoped the kid wouldn’t cause any more trouble. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter Seventeen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Cara figures out what happened between Aili and Mando in no time and starts teasing but it backfires a little on her. They make it to Arvala-7 without anymore trouble from little green children and Mando is reintroduced to someone he left behind when he first rescued Little Green.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Cara couldn’t stop herself from staring, trying to figure out what exactly had changed since the last time she had seen Aili and Mando. They were all down in the cargo hold again, Aili with the kid in her arms to keep him out of trouble. She watched the way Aili slowly rocked the kid to sleep which was normal before her eyes wandered over to where Mando was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If she were anyone else, she probably wouldn’t have noticed anything out of place. Maybe she wouldn’t have noticed the way Mando’s helmet was slightly tilted towards Aili and the kid so he could watch them. Or she wouldn’t have noticed the way Aili kept glancing at Mando with only half the amount of annoyance in her eyes as she had back on Sorgan. That was probably the thing that had really given it away for her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I see now,” Cara suddenly laughed loudly. It didn’t take a genius, just someone that had spent weeks around them to notice the difference between the way they acted around each other. It wasn’t even anything obvious and she doubted either of them noticed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Aili asked, raising an eyebrow at the laughing woman. Mando stayed quiet, simply tilting his helmet to the other side wondering what Cara was talking about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two. You two </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally </span>
  </em>
  <span>fu-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d suggest you don’t finish that sentence. Besides I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Aili placed Little Green onto the cot and shut the hatch. They still had no idea just how much he understood and she wasn’t about to have this conversation when he could overhear it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh-huh, sure you don’t. Just let me know what parts of the ship to avoid touching.” Cara didn’t want to accidentally touch anything that had seen any action between the two people she called friends. She looked over at the closed cot hatch and winced when she realized that Aili had just put the kid in there. “You two didn’t...in there, did you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>If</span>
  </em>
  <span> what you think happened, happened, I’d tell you that cot is too small and it’s too late because you’re already leaning against it,” Aili fake-whispered, a large, innocent smile on her face. Cara let out a disgusted groan and moved from where she was leaning, moving towards another section of wall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually I think it was that wall,” Mando said from his spot against the ladder. Cara tossed a rude hand-gesture his way and wondered when he had decided to get a sense of humor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was it? I was drinking and it was dark,” Aili questioned before shrugging her shoulders. She was a little surprised that he was joking about it too since it hadn’t been something either of them had brought up since it happened. It was mainly her avoiding the subject every time it seemed like Mando was about to say something because she didn’t want to talk feelings. Ever.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You slept with her while she was drunk?” Cara asked, turning to Mando with surprise on her face. She knew they had to be messing with her now. No way Mando would sleep with Aili if she was drunk. He had more honor than that given how he had always tried to stop himself from looking for too long whenever Aili walked around Sorgan in a </span>
  <em>
    <span>tank top</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Cara and half the other people in the village didn’t have as much self-control so she had commended Mando for that at the very least. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Cara, I drank you under the table back on Sorgan. You think I had that much alcohol on this ship, with </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>kid on board?" Aili questioned, raising a single eyebrow. There was no way to store that much alcohol on the Crest because there was nowhere to store it where Little Green couldn’t accidentally get into it. Her single bottle had been hard enough to keep from his reach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Fair point but still.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I wasn't even tipsy besides I came onto him and wouldn't take no for an answer,” Aili wasn’t going to apologize for it now even if she and Mando weren’t declaring their undying love for each other. She mentally laughed at the image because even if that happened, it would never be so dramatic. One of them would have to literally be dying to get her to say anything and even then she wouldn’t admit to anything if it was her doing the dying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara paused for a moment before nodding and shrugging a shoulder, "That sounds more accurate. Surprising but accurate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ship gave a small lurch as it dropped out of hyperspace and Mando let out a barely noticeable sigh as he now had a good reason to leave before Cara could keep teasing. He already knew she would focus on him because Aili would just join in rather than start blushing the way Cara would want her too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So how was...?” Cara didn’t even try to keep her voice down as she asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was great, thanks,” Aili said rather than seriously answer Cara’s question. It took until Mando was out of sight and standing in front of the cockpit to realize that Aili had actually given Cara a straight answer, giving the same answer as when he had asked. He shook his head knowing that Cara wouldn’t get the comment and he wondered if Aili had purposely said it or was deflecting like usual. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He brought them down onto Arvala-7, landing just outside the Ugnaught’s moisture farm. Aili opened the hatch, not even a little surprised to see Little Green was awake. “Come on, womp rat. You can show me where all the best rocks are.” She placed him in the other floating cradle they had even though she actually couldn’t remember where they had picked it up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando came back down the ladder and made sure that the cradle was set to follow behind him. They all walked down the gangway, Mando in front while Aili chose to walk beside the floating cradle while Cara brought up the rear. Arvala-7 was only slightly better than Tatooine in Aili’s opinion and that had everything to do with the fact that it only had one sun. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili couldn’t help the snort of laughter that escaped her when Mando had to almost bend over almost completely to enter the Ugnaught’s home. She assumed Cara would have to duck as well while she entered. “Tall people problems.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Better than needing help getting food down from the top shelf,” Mando muttered low enough that only she heard him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you did do that on purpose,” Aili said bluntly before shoving at Mando’s shoulder and rolling her eyes. She knew she hadn’t put the snacks she had bought for herself that high up. No matter how much she wanted to keep them out of Little Green’s reach, she would never put them out of her own reach. Having to deal with Mando asking if she needed help as she tried to climb anything in order to get them down had almost been enough to make her smack him.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They settled around the home, Little Green’s cradle to the side while Aili stood next to it, Cara and Mando leaning against a wall. The Ugnaught came close to the cradle and Aili knew it was dumb but she tensed up a little before relaxing. Obviously this was someone she could potentially trust otherwise Mando wouldn’t have brought them here but it was a reaction she couldn’t stop herself from having. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It hasn’t grown much,” the Ugnaught that Mando still hadn’t introduced them to said as he looked over the child in the cradle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it might be a Strand-Cast,” Mando replied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando, really? You could have mentioned that before and I would’ve told you that you were wrong,” Aili said, looking over at him with her face scrunched up wondering where he really got that idea. Logically she understood why he would think that but she’d seen Strand-Casts before. Little Green wasn’t one for multiple reasons. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Ugnaught nodded his head, “Your friend is right. I don’t think it was engineered. I’ve worked the gene farms, this one looks evolved. Too ugly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“These two on the other hand, that one looks like she was farmed on the Cytocaves of Nora while this one looks like she could be from any number of facilities.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that a compliment? I’m gonna take that as a compliment,” Aili said, a small smile on her face. She saw an almost matching one on Cara’s face, a little confused but mostly appreciative. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is Cara Dune, she was a shock trooper and this is Aili Verdella,she’s... another hunter from the Guild.” Mando introduced them, something he probably should have done when they first walked in. But he hadn’t really been given the chance. Aili and Cara both raised an eyebrow over Mando stumbling over how to introduce Aili. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Ugnaught looked like he wanted to say something to Aili but he turned to Cara instead. “You were a Dropper?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you serve?” Cara asked, noticing the way his eyes had lingered on the tattoo on her arm. It was no surprise when people recognized it but it was usually others who had also served during the war. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On the other side, I’m afraid. But I’m proud to say that I paid out my clan’s debt and now I serve no one but myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was the moment a droid ducked into the home, an IG unit with a tray of what looked like tea in its hands. Aili didn’t know what to make of it because IG units were usually not used for serving tea but she wasn’t about to pull a blaster out unlike Cara and Mando who immediately did so. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tea, it’s literally holding a tray of tea. What do you think it’s going to kill us with poison rather than a blaster?” Aili muttered to Cara and Mando who didn’t so much as lower their weapons in the slightest. She knew Mando hated droids but this was a little ridiculous, more so than when he shot at pit droids. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That thing is programmed to kill the baby,” Mando said knowing that was all he would have to say to get Aili to take the threat seriously. He felt a little bad even as he said it because he didn’t actually know how Aili would react. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Aili questioned, slowly shifting her feet to move quickly if she had to be it towards the droid or to protect Little Green. She was cursing herself in her head for never getting the whole story from Mando on exactly how he had wound up with Little Green in the first place. Now she wished she had asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not anymore,” the Ugnaught said gently. “Please lower your blasters.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do you have it?” Aili asked, glancing over at him for a brief moment before looking back up at the droid who was still just standing there with the tray of tea. She didn’t see any weapons attached to it but that didn’t mean much when it came to droids. But she had a feeling that the Ugnaught didn’t make it a habit of letting the IG unit have weapons at all times. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He let out a sigh before launching into his explanation, if only to ease the Mandalorian’s stiff posture and convince him to lower his blaster. “It was left behind in the wake of the Mandalorian’s destruction. I found it laying where it fell, devoid of all life. I recovered the flotsam and stated it as my own in accordance with the Charter of the New Republic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Little remained of its neural harness. Reconstruction was quite difficult...but not impossible. It had to relearn everything from scratch, this is not something that can be taught with the twist of a spanner. It requires patience and repetition. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I spent day after day reinforcing its development with patience and affirmation. It developed a personality as its experiences grew.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it still a hunter?” Mando asked stiffly, blaster still in hand although he had lowered it a little. Cara had put hers away midway through the explanation but she didn’t have half the issues with droids as Mando did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No but it will protect.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The IG unit kept its ocular receptors trained on Mando for a long time as the Mandalorian stared at it as well. Until the droid held up a steaming cup, “Tea?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara took the cup after half a second, slowly drinking the tea without question and Mando let out a sigh knowing there wasn’t much else that he could say or do about the droid. The droid handed out tea to everyone else, save for Mando who refused the drink. Aili couldn’t tell if it was because of the helmet or droid itself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually the Ugnaught had to go outside to tend to the blurrg and Mando made to follow after him before hesitating when he came closer to the droid. Aili came up beside him, placing a hand on his arm right under his pauldron, she waited for him to glance down at her. “I’ll stay here with Little Green, you go talk to him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando gave her a short nod before he left, the last thing he heard was Cara laughing. “Little Green?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s little and green, you got a problem with that?” Aili bit back, her tone only jokingly harsh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walked over to where the Ugnaught was feeding one of the blurrgs. “I’ve run into some problems.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I figured as much, why else would you return?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to hire your services.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m retired from service.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can pay you handsomely, Ugnaught,” Mando said, trying to keep his tone steady. They didn’t exactly have very much time before Karga just decided that they weren’t coming. He didn’t want to know what would happen after that. How many more hunters would be after them if the Imps weren’t taken out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have a name, it is Kuiil.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need someone to protect the little one, Kuiil.” Mando said, immediately using the Ugnaught’s name and wondering why he had never asked before. He winced, glad that Aili had stayed back in Kuiil’s home because he knew she would comment on his manners again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not suited for such work and it seems like your companion can do so on her own,” Kuiil replied, referring to Aili and how she had immediately moved to protect the Child when Mando referred to IG-11 as a potential threat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando shook his head even though he wished that were the case with Aili. Karga wouldn’t accept only him showing up, not when Aili betrayed the Guild too at the request of the Armorer for a reason neither of them understood. “She...I dragged her into this trouble as well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see,” Kuiil said. “I can reprogram IG-11 for nursing and protocol.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want that droid anywhere near him,” Mando quickly refused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you so distrustful of droids?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Mando, please enlighten us.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you said you were going to stay with the kid,” Mando let out a sigh as he turned to look at Aili who simply shrugged her shoulders. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax, the IG unit had to shut down to charge and Cara is watching Little Green who is asleep. But I believe he asked you a question and I’ve been curious since Tatooine,” Aili said, a single eyebrow raised as she waited for him to answer. It wasn’t like she didn’t have the right to ask when she had shared pretty much everything about her own childhood, or lack thereof. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It tried to kill the child,” Mando said as if that answered either of their questions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not an answer,” Aili said before rolling her eyes. But it was fine, if he wanted to continue keeping his secrets then it was his choice. She wasn’t going to hold a grudge against him for that or bring it up later. Maybe. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was programmed to do so. Droids are not good or bad, they are neutral reflections of those who imprint them,” Kuiil explained and Aili actually couldn’t come up with a decent argument for that one. She’d seen droids take on the personalities of their owners, some ending up with very colorful language. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve seen otherwise,” Mando said shortly. Once again Aili wondered where his hatred of droids had started because it was deep seated. An old grudge like hers when it came to the Empire. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you trust me?” Kuiil asked. Aili looked up at Mando and waited for his answer. Either they had Kuiil and the IG unit join them or they took off without either of them, which would mean reworking the plan for how Nevarro went down. Someone would need to be tasked with getting Little Green out of there if things went sideways and as much as Aili would say she could do it...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“From what I can tell, yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuiil gave a short nod. “Then you will trust my work. IG-11 will join me and we do it not for payment, but to protect the child from Imperial slavery. None will be free until the old ways are gone forever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyone against Imps is good with me, even if it’s a reprogrammed droid,” Aili said when Mando stayed quiet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And the blurrgs will join me as well,” Kuiil said simply as he turned to walk away without further explanation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The blurrgs?” Both Aili and Mando questioned at the same time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have spoken.” Kuiil said as he kept walking away, going back into his home without giving them time to argue with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do we have room for blurrgs?” Aili asked, looking from the blurrg they were standing next to and then over to the Razor Crest. She also assumed that Kuiil would want to take at least two as well. That would make space on the ship tighter than it already was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’ll-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t say it will be fine,” Aili interrupted Mando before he could keep talking. Every time he said that everything went wrong in more than one way. Either she ended up with a concussion or she literally screwed up the mostly friendly rapport that had formed between the two of them. She was still avoiding that one as best as she could despite Mando trying to subtly bring it up at times. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando let out a deep sigh, “I was going to say it’ll be a tight fit but we should have the room.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doubtful but we’ll see.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter Eighteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The whole gang is on the way to Nevarro, Mando is being weird after a quick talk with Kuiil and Aili is suspicious. Cara and Mando have an arm-wrestle and secrets are revealed about the child which leads to several people putting their foot in their mouth at different times.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>They were loading up the blurrg when Kuiil spoke up. “That one is good for you,” he said without preamble as usual. That didn’t make his words any less jarring for Mando to hear as he barely stopped himself from accidentally pulling too hard on the blurrg’s reins. The last thing they needed was for him to piss off the blurrg again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” was the only thing he settled on saying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The smaller angry one, Aili. You two are good for each other, sooth each other’s anger from the past.” Kuiil wasn’t stupid, he had seen too many things during his servitude to the Empire. He didn’t need to know any details to see the similarities and he was sure the Shock Trooper had seen it too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re not together,” Mando said stiffly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is not what I see when you two are around each other.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She doesn’t-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have spoken.” Kuiil said before Mando could even finish his sentence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando didn’t even know what else to say or do after that so he just kept leading the blurrg onto the ship. He was just glad that neither Aili or Cara were on the ship yet. Cara because she would just start laughing at the two of them again and Aili because he had no idea how she would react. As much as he wanted to know, a bigger part of him, the smarter part, didn’t want to know. Didn’t want to hear her own rejection out loud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They got everything packed onto the ship quickly after that, Mando trying to avoid Aili just a little bit. He almost succeeded but right after Cara and Kuiil went on board, Aili stopped him from heading up the gangway with a hand on his arm. “Is everything okay? Because if this is about the plan, we don’t have to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t have a choice,” Mando said shortly, slightly shrugging out of her grasp and walking onto the ship. Aili stared at him as she followed behind him with Little Green’s cradle floating between them. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion but she quickly schooled her face back into it’s usual passive expression once Cara was in sight. No need to have Cara start asking questions or making teasing remarks any time soon. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She watched Mando from the corner of her eye as she made sure that Little Green’s cradle wasn’t going to be in the way of anyone. He went up to the cockpit and they were soon taking off from Arvala-7 without another word. Weird but whatever, Aili shrugged to herself and went over to where they kept their rations to get the kid something to eat to keep him from starting any trouble. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whatever Mando’s problem was would work itself out eventually or she could always kick his ass, whichever happened first. She was willing to bet on the latter option though. There was the small lurch that sent them into hyperspace and a minute later, Mando was sliding back down the ladder just as Aili was turning to walk back over to Little Green. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a quiet sound of surprise when she barely stopped herself from getting a face full of beskar. “I am getting you a bell once this is all over.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None of that, please, there are children present,” Cara called from where she was sitting. She had a smirk on her face as she watched the two of them almost crash into each other. She honestly couldn’t believe the two of them were still acting so oblivious to each other’s feelings, but she was starting to get the impression that it was mainly coming from one more than the other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who, you? I think it’s too late to give you the talk,” Aili bit back, side stepping around Mando so she could give Little Green his snack. Hopefully after that he’d be ready to go to sleep and then he really couldn’t start any trouble before they got to Nevarro. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just a little late,” Cara said back, a large grin on her face now. Her gaze slid over to where Mando was still standing stiffly. “Hey Mando, let’s settle a bet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” That finally snapped him back into reality and Cara pulled out a few credits, placing them on the crate she was sitting in front of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s find out who’s really stronger, me or you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando paused to think it over before walking over and placing his own credits on the makeshift table. “I won’t go easy on you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Trash talk doesn’t work on me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili watched as Mando and Cara arm-wrestled out of pure boredom and a need to finally prove who was stronger. Further back Kuiil was feeding the blurrg and Little Green was curiously watching Mando and Cara as well from his cradle. He had just finished his snack and Aili was still trying to decide how much longer to let him stay up. She had given him the snack and moved back over to the other side of the ship where things were a little less crowded.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got you, Mando.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Care to double the bet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili rolled her eyes at the two of them, mostly Mando because he had no problem making bets with Cara but he couldn’t have a simple conversation with her before they left Arvala-7. She had no idea what had happened during the time he was loading the blurrgs with Kuiil but if he wanted to act like a child, she’d let him. He had done that to her plenty of times. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes went wide in surprise as soon as Cara started to choke on nothing. Like something invisible was choking her. She rushed forward when Cara brought her hands up to her throat in an attempt to do something. She didn't even notice Mando staring at Little Green as she tried to figure out what was wrong with Cara. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, hey, stop!” Mando shouted, grabbing Little Green a little too roughly as the child let out a small squeak of surprise. “We’re friends. Cara is my friend!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara took several harsh breaths. “That is not okay!” She angrily exclaimed, pointing at the kid with one finger while she tried to catch her breath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He...has he had powers this whole time?” Aili questioned, eyes still wide in shock. She’d heard rumors of things like this, had seen a couple of girls taken out of the Program with no reason given. But guards always talked and they spoke of weird powers, something the Emperor was always looking out for. Other than that she had never asked for details. She wouldn’t have been given answers anyway no matter what her rank was within the Program. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm, very curious,” Kuiil said, coming closer to look at the child in Mando’s grasp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Curious? It almost killed me!” Cara exclaimed, not even noticing when the kid let out another quiet sound of distress. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s a child and didn’t know what you two were doing,” Aili said harshly, moving around Cara to go over to Mando to hold her hands out for him to hand Little Green over to her. He hesitated for a second before doing so. She barely noticed the way he tensed up when their hands brushed against each other, she was too focused on making sure the kid was okay. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The story you told me of the mudhorn makes more sense now,” Kuiil said, still looking at the child with surprise in his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mudhorn?” Aili asked, throwing Mando a look of displeasure when she saw the slight tears in Little Green’s eyes. He had obviously gotten scared by Mando shouting at him and Cara yelling at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” Mando asked, ignoring the look Aili was giving him for now. It wasn’t the most pressing matter at the moment to tell her about the mudhorn incident. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He,” Aili muttered under her breath, too low for anyone to really hear it. They had both given him enough baths and cleaned his small robe enough times that Mando should know that Little Green was a boy by now. Of course he was probably still trying to act like he wasn’t as attached to the kid as she was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuiil shook his head slightly, “What it is, I don’t know. But what it does, this I’ve heard rumors of.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, when you worked for the Empire? And what about you Aili, you know about this too?” Cara questioned, her tone a little too accusatory for Aili’s taste. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili threw a look of incredulity towards Cara, angry that the Shock Trooper would accuse her of something with no proof. “Okay let’s not go there just because you’re pissed off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you mean when I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>sold</span>
  </em>
  <span> to the Empire, in indentured servitude,” Kuiil added, his own voice taking on slight anger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara let out a scoff, gesturing towards them both, “Yet somehow, you both walk free.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I bought my freedom through the skill of my hands and the labor of three of your human lifetimes. Do not cast doubt upon that of what I am nor whom I shall serve,” Kuiil said, short and to the point but not without quiet anger lacing his every word. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I had to blow up a whole base to be able to “walk free”, you do not get to judge me or the things I did before then,” Aili stated, staring at Cara with a withering look in her eyes. So much for being friends if this was all it took to cause distrust. She turned around again, her back to Cara now as she muttered to herself, “I do that plenty to myself every day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No one noticed Mando making half an attempt to bring a hand up to Aili's shoulder before he stopped himself. With a subtle shake of his helmet, he brought his hand back down to his side, clenching both hands into fists to stop himself from trying again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>IG-11 had walked over to them at the sound of raised voices but stood down a little when he saw Aili was comforting the child already. Mando let out a deep sigh knowing that both Cara and Aili were going to be pissed off for hours now. Not exactly two people he wanted angry on his ship, worse that they were angry with each other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned to Kuiil and made sure to keep his voice even as he spoke, “Tell you what, I could really use your craftwork right now. Any way you can pad this container better so the child can sleep better?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew that even though Aili had agreed to switch out when they used the cot, she spent most of her nights letting the kid sleep on the cot. He had come down from the cockpit more than once and seen her curled up on the floor in front of the cot with nothing but a blanket and one of her bags as a pillow under her head. So if Kuiil could make the kid’s cradle more comfortable, maybe then she’d actually use the cot for once. He knew it wasn’t the most comfortable place to sleep but it was better than the ship floor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I shall fabricate a better one. Then perhaps this Dropper can see how one can win their freedom with the skill of one’s hands.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you. We need to go over the plan again,” Mando directed the last part to Aili and Cara who were still not looking at each other. Cara wasted no time in heading for the ladder, still rubbing at her neck before she went up to the cockpit without another word. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You two go ahead,” Aili said shortly, keeping all of her focus on Little Green for the moment, rocking him from side to side without thinking about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"This involves all of us,” Mando replied, barely holding back another sigh. He knew she was upset but that didn’t mean she could get out of making sure the plan was fool proof. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah well unless you think Little Green will be able to contribute somehow, someone's gonna have to get him to calm down,” Aili shot back, looking up at Mando and that was when Mando finally noticed the small amount of tears in big brown eyes. He let out another sigh before nodding. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but once he’s asleep, come up to the cockpit.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that an order?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando winced behind his helmet knowing that he had chosen the wrong thing to say if the blunt way Aili spoke said anything. He tried to fix it quickly, “A request.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” Some of the tension in Aili’s shoulders faded away but he could tell she was still angry. Probably would be until they reached Nevarro and then all her anger could be redirected towards the Imps that were in the city. Mando just hoped they could all make it to the planet in one piece. He shook his head once more before heading up to the cockpit, hoping that maybe he could talk to Cara before Aili rejoined them, let her know how badly she screwed up without telling her too much of what Aili had told him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili watched from the corner of her eyes as Mando finally went up the ladder before she closed her eyes and let out a sigh. “Stupid,” she whispered to herself before biting her tongue to distract herself and to push away the dumb tears that had come to her eyes. Mando had been nice enough to not mention them, or just smart enough for once. Either way she was grateful. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She watched as Kuiil started to work on a new cradle for Little Green, this one round rather than a rectangle. She was perfectly fine with staying in the cargo hold while Cara and Mando were up in the cockpit trying to come up with some semblance of a plan if everything went sideways. Which it probably would like most of the things that Mando was involved in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili was just trying to get the kid to go to sleep before rejoining them. She knew that was why they had brought Kuiil and IG-11 along but she couldn’t help herself. It had become a habit at this point and she wasn’t even sure if Little Green would let anyone else put him to sleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kids got weirdly attached like that considering he would rarely let Mando put him down to sleep if Aili was there. It had gotten worse after the job on Tatooine which is something Mando had mentioned once and Aili couldn’t disagree with him for once. Waking up with a concussion and not knowing where Little Green was had sent her back to the base for a moment which was not a place or time she liked to think back on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she was also okay with any time spent avoiding Cara for a little while, the other woman’s comments had hit a little too close to home for her. The accusations had been worse, the implication that she was in any way still working for the Empire. She had thought she had made it obvious what she thought of Imps. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So to hear the comments come from someone who she had just been joking around with, someone who she had thought was her friend? Had Cara said something to Mando and that was why he was acting so weird now? She let out an annoyed sigh and tried to shake the thoughts away. She didn’t care what either of them thought of her, she knew where she stood and that was all that mattered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You and the Mandalorian are good together,” Kuiil stated when he paused for a break, hoping Aili would see more reason than the Mandalorian did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?” Aili was pretty sure she was hearing things but she didn’t stop her rocking motion aside from a slight wobble. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can tell, I saw things during the Empire’s rule. Children, girls not even old enough to walk or talk yet, taken from their parents and never seen again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I--” Aili hadn’t even thought that there could have been girls taken from the workers on gene farms. But it made sense, they were desperate to pay off debts and for not the first time, she wondered about her own parents. She pushed the thought away quickly, it didn’t matter to her anymore, she knew they weren’t workers on some farm. Her file had had that much information at the very least even if it didn’t have the right birth year. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not hard to spot the hard edges left by the Empire. Both of you have them for different reasons but they are very much the same,” Kuiil continued, not noticing the way Aili was almost lost in thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes but-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You both round out each other’s edges. I have spoken.” Kuill said before turning back to his work before Aili could even say anything. She stared at the Ugnaught in stunned silence before a quiet coo brought her attention down to Little Green. He blinked his own big brown eyes at her like he understood and agreed with Kuiil.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not you too, you little womp rat,” Aili whispered to him. Little Green had the nerve to smile at her before reaching up to reach for a loose curl of hair. Aili let out a deep sigh, adjusting her grip on the kid so his head was resting against her chest and he could wrap his little hand around her hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had no idea why he always had to do that but it was cute regardless of the times he accidentally tugged too hard. To her it was just like when Shaeli and Jaesa were younger and couldn't sleep. If Mando only knew how many times she had slept in the Covert that first year, one or both of the girls piled on top of her so they could sleep soundly to the sound of her heart beat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took another couple of minutes before Little Green fell asleep deeply enough for Aili to put him down in the cot, tucking a blanket around him. A couple minutes too long for her to be alone with her thoughts and the comments Kuiil had made. She knew how Mando felt about her, </span>
  <em>
    <span>probably</span>
  </em>
  <span> felt about her, she corrected herself. It wasn’t like they had sat down afterwards and discussed their feelings but she was sure she had picked up on it anyway. The helmet could only hide his expressions but not his actions or body language. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She just didn’t know how she actually felt about him. It wasn’t like she had any kind of previous relationship experience to fall back on, none of her experience had come from a place of emotion of any kind. She knew she loved the girls but that was obviously different, they saw her as their older sister or in Shaeli and Jaesa’s case as their mother. But romantically? She didn’t know what that would feel like even if it was right in front of her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a deep sigh, she glanced at Little Green once more before shutting the hatch and giving Kuiil one last nod, she headed up to the cockpit to help with planning. Anything to keep another child from the Empire’s grasp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So we’re heading to Nevarro?” She walked in as soon as Cara asked Mando. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you ever been?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara shook her head, “No, we lost a lot of forces there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not missing much,” Aili muttered as she took her usual seat. “Rocks and lava, that’s about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I’m sorry about the shit I said down there.” To her credit, Cara actually did seem sorry about what she had said to Aili. It made some of the anger Aili was still holding fade away, but not much. She knew better than most that things said in anger were things you thought while not angry as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine,” Aili said with a small shrug before trying to deflect the conversation. “You were saying about during the war?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, yeah, the city’s dug in pretty deep which I’m sure you both know already. So no cover when you drop in. It stayed in Empire control until the war was over.” Cara explained while continuing to clean the blaster rifle she had chosen from the weapons locker earlier. Aili hadn’t even noticed her taking it up the ladder with her but then again, she had her back to the woman at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The warlord we’re taking out was an Imperial officer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What station?” Cara asked. She didn’t know very much about how the Empire worked but she was willing to bet that between her and Aili they could figure it out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hard to tell. No insignia anymore. I took out the safehouse when I snatched the kid. More Imps have reinforced since.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara and Aili shared a quick glance before Cara spoke again, “There’s something more going on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I agree, something doesn’t feel right. Imperial officers didn’t do their own dirty work during the war, why would they now? What was this guy’s name again?” Aili hadn’t known officers that were high ranking that would also do their own work. Even the Emperor had other people to do his bidding, it was the whole reason the Program existed. And she had even heard about some group called Inquisitors but they had a whole different hierarchy and she had never met one before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I only knew him as the Client.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm, definitely something else going on,” Aili said, brow furrowed in thought now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe. We’ll find out more when we land.” The cockpit doors opened before Mando could continue and IG-11 stepped in, stopping right beside Aili and Cara meaning he was right behind Mando. Aili cringed knowing Mando wouldn’t like that at all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have prepared second meal. Would you care to be served here or below?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando slowly turned to look at the droid and Aili could just about see the anger coming off of him before he turned back around. “I’m not hungry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>IG-11 paused for half a second before backing out of the cockpit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Under no circumstances does that thing leave the ship,” Mando said stiffly once the cockpit doors were closed again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got a real thing for droids, don’t you?” Cara laughed, finally done checking over and cleaning the rifle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got a real thing for that droid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando, you shot at pit droids not too long ago.” Aili raised an eyebrow that Mando couldn’t see with his back to her but she hoped he could hear the tone in her voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’m not going near that one but the Ugnaught said he rewired this one,” Cara said even as she furrowed her brow at the thought of Mando shooting at a pit droid. Those were the most harmless of droids that she had ever seen.  They literally only had one job and that was to help fix ships. If there was one thing the Razor Crest needed, it was pit droids to fix half the things wrong with it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That droid was designed to kill things, I don’t care how much wiring he replaced. It goes against its nature.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili knew it was stupid but Mando’s choice of words didn’t sit right with her. Not because she cared about the droid in any way. She hadn’t been around the droid long enough to care about it anymore than she cared about the last blaster she bought. But with Cara’s earlier comments still running through her head, Mando’s comment despite not being about her added to her earlier feelings. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It shouldn’t be a long job anyway. We take out the head Imp, the rest will run like rats,” Cara grinned wide before getting up to get that meal that IG-11 had made. No point in going into a fight on an empty stomach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando and Aili sat in silence, nothing but the stars of hyperspace passing by them for a long moment. “You were only talking about the droid, right?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Mando asked, turning around to look at Aili. Behind his helmet, he was giving her a confused look that she couldn’t see. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-nevermind,” she said quickly before pushing herself out of her chair. “I’m going to head down for some food, you sure you don’t want any?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not if the droid made it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, can’t trust food made by a killing machine,” Aili said before walking out of the cockpit before Mando could reply to her. He sat there in silent confusion wondering what he had said now that had made her mad. He went through everything he had said about the droid. The only thing he had said was that it was designed to kill things and no rewiring would change its nature.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dank farrik,” he hissed out to himself. Every time he thinks he can’t put his foot in his mouth again, he does. He could understand how she could misinterpret his words especially since he knew how she was raised pretty much since birth. Probably thought that made her no better than a hunter droid sometimes and now she had both Cara and him make comments that made it seem like they thought that of her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He checked the solar clock on the console and wondered if he had time to fix his latest screw up before they reached Nevarro. He let out another curse when he saw that they had barely any time before they would drop out of hyperspace, maybe a few solar hours. He was about to get up to go find her when there was a knock at the cockpit door but no one came in. With a confused tilt of his helmet, he went to the door to find a small plate of food sitting on the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a small bit of flimsiplast laying on top of it with a note written on it that simply said “Not made by a droid, eat it” in handwriting that Mando didn’t recognize. But only one person on board the Crest would even bother with the note let alone one demanding he eat it. He bent down to pick up the food, now even more confused than before but he would admit to himself that he was hungry and he doubted Aili would lie about the droid not touching this food. With one last look towards the ladder that led to the cargo hold he retreated back into the cockpit and after making sure the door was locked, he ate the food she had left for him. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter Nineteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They make it back to Nevarro and meet up with Karga and his detail of bounty hunters. Things are fine until they make camp and then things go very wrong, very quickly. Until more discoveries are made about the powers that Little Green wields.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mando came down from the cockpit, thankful that his helmet made it easy for him to look for where Aili was without anyone noticing. He didn’t have to look far as it were since she was close, standing in front of the open weapons locker. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Mando said quietly so he didn’t catch Cara’s attention. The ex-Shock Trooper was still lightly dozing off closer to where the blurrgs were because she didn’t believe Mando or Aili about which wall to avoid. It wasn’t like either of them actually knew which wall it was but they weren’t about to say that out loud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For what?” Aili questioned, keeping her voice down as well even as she kept cleaning her one blaster. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The food last night.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili’s hands paused in their task before she shrugged without looking up at Mando. “Yeah, well, I didn’t want you passing out in the middle of a potential shootout.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando, no offense, but if I had to choose between you or Little Green...you don’t want to know the answer,” Aili gave him a wry smile, finally looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. She placed her blaster back into its holster without another word and moved on to checking over the vibroblade she always kept on her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think that was your answer,” Mando said as he tilted his helmet to the side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you say so," Alli shrugged again before putting her vibroblade away as well and shutting the weapons locker. She leaned up against it knowing that Mando already had all his weapons on him, he always did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re about to reach Nevarro,” Mando stated after a moment of silence. “Are you ready?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili glanced behind her over to where Little Green was sitting in the new cradle that Kuiil had finished almost as quickly as he had started working on it. She turned back to look up at Mando, “Yeah but I still think this is a trap.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But the pros outweigh the cons so we don’t have a choice, do we?” Aili asked, using Mando’s own words against him. He had been right though, they didn’t really have a choice at the moment. They could only run for so long with Imps and other hunters after them especially since the Crest had more problems than not. So it wasn’t like they could keep landing on planets and hoping for another Sorgan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay then, just one thing before we head down.” Aili pursed her lips, wondering if there was even a point to asking her question. She didn’t even think Mando would actually answer it in the first place but it was bugging her now. She didn’t like going into a job with a team that didn’t completely trust each other. Case in point: the prison break which just led to problem after problem. Which just led to her making a decision that led to things being awkward between her and Mando now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you being weirder than usual? Did Cara say something to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not being,” Mando hesitated before continuing. “We don’t have time for this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili’s brow raised in semi-surprise. “So she did say something? Because I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not, and have not, worked for the Empire since I destroyed that base.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know that, I doubt they’d have you attempt to...seduce a target.” Mando didn’t know how else to say it without bringing up what had happened between them and he was once again glad that Aili couldn’t see his face. No one needed to see the look on his face at the moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili, however didn’t have that luxury and made a face somewhere between a grimace and a cringe thinking back to more than one “mission” she had been given while with the Program. “Okay that’s not entirely truthful but, again, I don't work for Imps anymore. Anyway we’re talking about you acting weird.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was it Kuiil because he said something to me and I just want to say,” She interrupted him before he could completely change the subject because that wouldn’t make this conversation any quicker or easier for her. She was already regretting the whole thing without that happening. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really don’t need to, I already know.” Mando said before she could get to the part he didn’t want to hear out loud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do?” Aili questioned wondering if she had somehow been giving off signals without noticing. She had spent over half of her life being trained to keep her emotions so under lock and key to the point that anyone who met her didn’t know if she was a very convincing droid or not. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando shifted on his feet, trying very hard to keep his helmet facing forward to make it look like he was looking at Aili. Even if he was looking at the wall behind her. “I don’t see why we have to have this conversation right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, lovebirds!” Cara shouted, she had apparently gotten up at some point without either of them noticing. “Are we doing this or not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should go.” He didn’t wait for her to say anything before he turned to go back up to the cockpit and bring the ship into Nevarro’s atmo. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili stared after Mando, mouth open in confused shock. “That...didn’t clear anything up at all,” she muttered to herself. She barely held back from letting out an annoyed groan, gritting her teeth before letting out a deep sigh and reverting back to her old indifference. They wanted to see a Dragon, she’d give them and everyone else on the planet a Dragon. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando landed the Crest down on the coordinates that Karga had sent him and everyone prepared themselves to leave the ship. With Little Green securely in his new cradle, Aili made sure that he was okay before closing it so no one on Nevarro could see him just yet. Cara and Kuiil chose their blurrgs and mounted them just as Mando came down from the cockpit again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as Aili didn’t want to at the moment, she still chose to get on the blurrg that Mando was on because it was still the least awkward choice. Aili was still a little angry with Cara and the comments that she had made the night before but she was trying to shove those feelings down as much as possible. Didn’t mean she wanted to share a blurrg with her and Kuiil was still an unknown to Aili. That only left Mando. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t very comfortable, her sitting in front of Mando so that she could see and so Karga knew they weren’t about to attempt to pull anything on him if he couldn’t see her. They left the Razor Crest in silence, meeting up with Karga in the middle of the lava fields. Aili hadn’t seen them since the first time she had come to Nevarro and she hadn’t ever wanted to see them again, yet here she was.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry about the remote rendezvous but things have gotten complicated since the last time you two were here,” Karga said as he and three other Guild members walked towards them. He gazed over at Cara and Kuiil. “It appears introductions are in order, it seems we’ve both provided a security detail.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No one chose to speak which led to Karga continuing. “I recommend the Shock Trooper stays behind to guard the ship. These lava fields are lousy with Jawas.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s coming with us,” Aili stated, staring Karga down and daring him to say something against her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But the town is now run by ex-Empire,” Karga kept talking even as his eyes shifted away from the blank stare that Aili was giving him. He tried to look at Mando instead, barely holding back a shudder at the lack of expression. “If a Rebel Dropper is with us, they’ll all get their hackles up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s coming with us,” Mando reiterated Aili’s previous statement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Besides, she’ll be the least of their worries, trust me. If they’re really Imperial like you say they are,” Aili added knowing that Karga wouldn’t know what she was talking about. But it was the truth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Karga finally gave in before pointing towards Cara. “At least cover your tattoo, no need to flaunt it.” He wasn’t even going to bring up Aili’s comment because he didn’t want to know the answer. He didn’t want to admit it out loud but he didn’t know much at all about the woman aside from her being a damn good bounty hunter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, where is the little one?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili tensed up a little as Mando brought his arm up to press a few buttons on his vambrace to send the cradle forward towards Karga. It opened up to reveal Little Green who looked up at Karga with confused eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So this is the little bogwing that all the fuss is about,” Karga said as he got a little too close to Little Green for Aili’s taste. Mando took advantage of the fact that Aili was in front of him, slowly bringing a hand to his blaster just in case he needed to start shooting fast. Aili’s own hand moved to her blaster when Karga picked up Little Green, she didn’t care when the other hunters shifted their grasps on their own weapons. They wouldn’t be a match for both her and Mando. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What a precious little creature!” Karga exclaimed, looking up at Mando. “I can see why you didn’t want to harm a hair on its little wrinkled head and I can see why you would join him.” Karga directed the last part to Aili as he placed Little Green back into his cradle.  Both Mando and Aili moved their hands away from their holsters when Karga was finally not touching the kid anymore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m glad this matter will be put to rest once and for all.” Mando wasted no time in shutting the cradle closed again, bringing it back between his and Cara’s blurrgs before Karga kept talking. “The sun sets fast on Nevarro, as I’m sure you two remember, we can walk for a spell and then camp down at the riverbank before heading for town at first light.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both Mando and Aili gave short nods, knowing that they didn’t really have any other option. It was better to make it to the town during daylight hours. Aili remembered how dark it could get and that wouldn’t make it any easier to know what they were really up against. They made their way down the lava fields, Karga and his team ahead of Mando and Aili’s group. The cradle floating beside Mando and Aili’s blurrg the whole time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as the sun started to set, they found a site that would make a decent enough campsite for all of them. Someone caught one of the creatures native to Nevarro while someone else set up a campfire to cook it. The meat was doled out, Mando once again refusing his portion but at this point no one was surprised. It was the whole reason Aili had made sure he had eaten the night before. She knew he wouldn’t once they were planetside and surrounded by untrustworthy people. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili placed herself beside Little Green’s cradle, Mando on the other side while Karga sat next to him. Kuiil and Cara were a little further away on Aili’s side while the security detail that Karga had brought were sitting away from the rest of them. Karga watched as Aili tore off small pieces of meat to feed to the Child, making sure he ate before she did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m surprised to see you acting like a mother of some sort,” Karga said lightly. He was definitely not expecting that at all, not when the Aili Verdella he had dealt with until that point had always acted like a droid of some sort. Always quick with her jobs and coming back for more, the only time she had shown him any emotion was the time she had beat up several other hunters for their comments about female bounties. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Karga so don’t try,” Aili tossed back, giving him another blank stare. It seemed to be her now default expression with everyone except for the Child at the moment. Even Mando was getting the same treatment which was surprising to Karga since those two had been travelling together for a while now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karga stared for a moment longer, just watching as Aili went back to feeding the Child. “I guess he’s a carnivore, never seen anything like it. They were ready to pay a king’s ransom for that thing. Must be for some kind of high-falutin’ menagerie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doubtful,” Aili stated at the same time Mando chose to speak. No one cared that much about a single creature just to add them to some kind of collection. She still didn’t know why some Imp wanted Little Green but she was willing to bet it had something to do with the powers he had used to choke Cara last night. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go over the plan again,” Mando said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We all enter the common house, we show the Client the bait, we join him at the table, and one of you kills him,” Karga laid out the plan like it would really be as simple as that. Aili was beginning to wish that she had told Mando that they would be better off on the run for the rest of their lives with Little Green. Even if she knew that wouldn’t have worked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And his reinforcements?” Mando asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re all ex-Empire and as soon as they lose their paycheck, they’ll all scatter,” Karga scoffed, waving a hand in the air to dismiss the idea of the reinforcements. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what if they don’t?” Aili questioned, eyes narrowed. She understood why both Cara and Karga thought they knew how things would go down if they took out the high-ranking Imp but that would only work depending on his reinforcements. If he was as high-ranking as they thought he was they wouldn’t just scatter, they would take out as many of them as they could until they were taken out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They will.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili and Mando looked at each other, both of them thinking the same thing about the plan. “That’s not good enough,” Mando stated once he looked away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karga let out another annoyed scoff, “If, for some reason, a few of them don’t realize that I’m their best path to an alternative employment and they elect to react impulsively then these three fine Guild hunters along with this battle-hardened Shock Trooper will cut down anyone who bucks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How many?” Aili asked, looking up at Karga again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No more than four,” Karga said with a sigh before he got up from his seat to get a serving of meat. “He travels with, at most, a fire team. Trust me, nothing can go wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course that was the moment that things went very wrong. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A flying creature came flying out of the darkness and snatched the meat out of Karga’s hands, scratching him in the process. Everyone jumped to their feet, Cara and the other hunters already shooting out into the darkness. Aili pressed the button on the side of Little Green’s cradle to close it up, not wanting whatever those creatures were to so much as see him let alone snatch him away. She stayed low to the ground, waiting for the creatures to swoop down close enough before she shot out at them. The blaster shots weren’t doing much because she didn’t know where to aim for, didn’t know what these creatures were. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the creatures attacked the blurrgs, grabbing one and Kuiil went over to try to save it. “Let go of her! Drop her now!” Despite the blaster shots from both Kuiil and Cara, the creature took off into the darkness with the blurrg. But there were still at least two more surrounding them. And they came back at them with a mission, one grabbing one of the bounty hunters that Karga had brought while the other one grabbed another of the blurrg. The one that grabbed the bounty hunter was gone before they could shoot him down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara managed to shoot down the creature trying to take the blurrg along with Mando and Aili. But the blurrg didn’t seem to be moving either. They didn’t have the time to check on it when one of the creatures came back and knocked Mando to the ground. He struggled a bit to stay out of it’s grasp and Aili and Cara both turned their blasters to it, trying to get it to get off of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando turned on his flamethrower, hitting the creature in the face and it finally took off into the sky along with the other one being chased by blaster shots the whole time. Even though they couldn’t see anything, Mando, Cara, and Kuiil joined Aili around the cradle to protect it. When nothing came back out Mando opened the cradle after getting the okay from Aili. He was no worse for wear, completely protected by the cradle being closed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karga let out a loud groan of pain, leading Kuiil to run over to his side. Cara joined a second later after hesitating over the decision to put down her rifle to check on him. Aili knew that she would be of better use over there to help Karga but she didn’t want to leave Little Green’s side in the darkness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s hurt badly!” Kuiil shouted across the campsite. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine, I’m fine! Ow!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold still!” Cara exclaimed, opening up her pack and pulling out a bacta shot. Mando and Aili finally moved over to Karga’s side, the cradle floating slowly behind them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How bad?” Mando asked as soon as they were by their side. Aili glanced down at Karga’s arm and winced. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That bacta shot isn’t gonna work,” she said at the same time Cara answered Mando’s question. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bad. The poison is spreading fast.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So...this is how it happens,” Karga said slowly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be so dramatic. I need another medpac!” Cara shouted, wrapping a cloth around Karga’s upper arm in an attempt to stop the poison from spreading. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cara, all the medpacs in the galaxy aren’t going to help right now,” Aili said bluntly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A simple no would work,” Cara replied, using a scanner on Karga’s arm to check. “It’s still spreading.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No one noticed Little Green get out of his cradle and start walking over towards the group. He came up beside Karga, holding one of his hands out.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get this thing outta here,” Cara said with gritted teeth. Aili wondered if it was because she didn’t want Little Green to see a man die or because she was still upset about the choking incident. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on,” Aili said slowly watching as Little Green laid a hand over the wound. They all watched with bated breath as the scratches slowly closed until all that was left were a couple of scars. Aili kneeled down fast to catch Little Green before he could fall back onto the ground, picking him up in her arms and standing up again. Whatever he had done was still healing Karga’s arm, the skin soon smooth as if he had never been attacked in the first place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No one knew what to say and silence fell over the campsite once again. Aili stared down at Little Green with a stunned look on her face and she glanced behind her to give Mando a questioning look but he simply shook his head in response. He hadn’t known the kid could do that at all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili turned back around and she knew these Imps didn’t just want Little Green for a simple reason, they had to want him for his powers. Like the girls that were pulled from the Program and never seen again. Her mind was going a parsec a minute, knowing that this job just got a lot more complicated because there was no way there would only be a fire team waiting for them.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter Twenty</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Karga takes Mando, Aili, and Cara into Nevarro where there's more than they bargained for waiting for them. Too bad even Karga couldn't foresee exactly what he was bringing them into.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As soon as the sun rose, they broke down the campsite and continued on the walk towards town. Kuiil was on the last remaining blurrg, bringing up the rear of their group. Aili narrowed her eyes at Karga and his two remaining hunters putting distance between their group. She didn’t like that they were speaking low and out of earshot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Either of you think they’re having second thoughts?” Cara asked, quietly enough that only Mando and Aili could hear her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Could be,” Mando spoke first. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili tilted her head to the side a little as she took in the three people walking in front of their group, “Karga, maybe. Those two, no.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keep your guards up,” Mando said shortly. He didn’t like this anymore than Aili did but he had a little more hope after the kid had healed Karga. Now he just had to hope that Karga was right about his hunters being loyal to him and him only. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Always do,” Aili replied, a little surprised that Mando thought she hadn’t had her guard up from the moment they first stepped foot on Nevarro.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At some point during their walk, the hunters that Karga had brought ended up behind Mando, Aili, Cara, and Little Green’s cradle. They were now only behind Karga while Kuiil was still at the far rear. Aili didn’t like that at all and chose to keep her hand hovering above her blaster holster. She didn’t like not knowing what they had been talking about with Karga.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karga came to a stop by a drop in the lava fields and Aili tensed up without meaning to. She tried to ease the tension in her shoulders, letting out a deep breath to calm herself down. It would be easier to protect herself and Little Green if she wasn’t tense. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So I guess this is it," Karga spoke with a sigh. With a speed that not even Aili was prepared for, Karga pulled out both of his blasters and shot the bounty hunters that he had brought with him. Even as she, Mando, and Cara unholstered their own and pointed them at him. Karga held his blasters towards the sky to let them know he wasn’t about to shoot them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s something you should know,” Karga spoke as he walked past the three of them, holstering his weapons even as his back was to them. He kicked one of the men over before kicking his blaster out of his hand and towards Mando’s feet. “The plan was to kill you both and take the kid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I kriffin’ knew this was a trap but this is low even for you Karga,” Aili said, her own blaster still pointing at him along with Mando and Cara’s blasters. No one made a move to shoot yet, all of them with a little too much honor to shoot a man who didn’t have his own blasters out anymore. Karga was lucky that Aili had spent the better part of five years learning to ask questions first and shoot after rather than the other way around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“After what happened last night though, I couldn’t go through with it.” He threw his arms out to the side, with three blasters still training on him. “Go on, you can gun me down now and it wouldn’t violate the Code. But if you do, this child will never be safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara seemed to be waiting for a signal from either Mando or Aili, looking at each of them before focusing back on Karga. Neither of them had so much as twitched, staring down Karga in Aili’s case although it was easy to tell that Mando was doing the same. At some point Kuiil had caught up to them and had come down from his blurrg, watching as the now one-sided standoff continued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Imperial client is obsessed with obtaining this asset. You tried to run but where did that get you?” Karga questioned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili held back from mentioning the weeks they had spent on Sorgan. She wasn't stupid enough to sell out one of few places they could probably run back to without hunters following for a small amount of time. But Karga was right, they couldn't run forever. Especially when jobs outside the Guild were never a guarantee.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara let out a scoff, “This is ridiculous.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps you should let him speak,” Kuiil said, once again being the voice of reason among them all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen, we all need the client to be eliminated. Let me take the child to him and then you two--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not going to happen,” Aili interrupted before Karga could continue. That was a shit plan and Karga knew that none of them would go for it. She didn’t know why he would even suggest it in the first place. But she knew he was also right, they couldn’t just leave Nevarro now. As much as it pained her to admit even to just herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s just kill him and get outta here,” Cara said bluntly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can’t do that either,” Aili said, looking over at Mando who thankfully turned to look at her. Without speaking they had as much of a conversation as they could when one of them was wearing a helmet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s right,” Mando said as he turned back towards Karga, lowering his blaster at the same time as Aili. Now it was only Cara still keeping her blaster trained on Karga. She turned her head slightly to look at both Mando and Aili like they were crazy when they holstered their blasters. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you two doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As long as the Imp lives, he’ll send hunters after the Child,” Karga said. He knew that both Mando and Aili would know he was speaking the truth about that at the very least. They had been in the Guild, they knew how some clients would not rest until they had their quarry. Had both been given pucks for bounties that several hunters couldn’t catch, the reward going up with every failure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a trap,” Cara said slowly, hoping that either Mando or Aili would see that they were being crazy. Trusting the words of a man who had just admitted to planning their deaths not even five minutes ago. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bring us in,” Aili said, ignoring Cara completely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karga was taken aback, not expecting that to be Aili’s plan. He was unsure he had heard her correctly. “What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell him you captured us, get us close to him and one of us will kill him,” Mando spoke next, seeing where Aili was going with her idea. He didn’t agree with it completely and planned to change it within the next few minutes. Just like she had done back on Sorgan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a good idea. Give me your blasters," Karga requested. Mando and Aili were both quick to do so even as Cara looked at them like they were crazy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is insane. Did you two lose brain cells when you fucked each other?” Cara didn’t mean to sound so harsh or to let everyone know what had happened between the two bounty hunters. But this plan of theirs was crazy, a one way ticket to dying or being imprisoned by Imps. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Karga was taken aback by Cara's statement he didn't let it show on his face. Aili still picked up on a minute twitch in one of his eyebrows though which gave away his surprise. She guessed he hadn't expected that to ever happen given their first meeting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a huff of something akin to laughter before speaking, “That’s not a thing and I've only had the one minor concussion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s also the only way,” Mando added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m coming with you,” Cara stated, her tone not leaving room for argument. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, no. That would make them suspicious,” Karga replied, he was trying to keep the Rebel from shooting him but he couldn’t see a way to get her into town without raising suspicions. They would spot her from a parsec away and then there would be blaster shots from every direction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t care. I’m coming.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, just tell them </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> caught us. We let our guard down and she used one of us as leverage to catch the other,” Aili said, quickly becoming more annoyed with the amount of time they were wasting. Every second they spent trying to figure out a plan, the more time they gave for any scouts (she wasn’t stupid enough to think this Imp </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> had a fire team with him) to have them in their sights. After that and it wouldn’t matter what kind of plan they decided on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine. Then she can bring the Child,” Karga stated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, the kid goes back to the ship,” Mando said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But without the Child, none of this works!” Karga was surprised that Mando wouldn’t know that already. The Client would want to see the Child to know that they weren’t pulling a fast one on him. As much as he was now asking for the capture of Mando and Aili, his main focus was still the Child. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have a different plan,” Mando said suddenly, which was news to Aili. He turned to look at her and she was aleady ready to argue against whatever stupid thing came out if his mouth. “Ride back to the Razor Crest with Kuiil and the Child and seal yourselves in. When you’re inside, engage ground security protocols. Nothing on this planet will breach those doors.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, one problem, I’m not letting you do this on your own,” Aili turned to Kuiil before Mando could even start with her. “I trust you to take the kid and do what he said. He’s right about the doors, nothing will get past them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Mando, you may have slighted the Client but they know about Aili as well and want her brought in too. They were quite clear on that.” Karga spoke before Mando could argue with Aili’s quick dismissal of his alternate plan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How do they know?” Mando questioned, his tone clipped even through his voice modulator. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Imps aren't stupid, they still have eyes and ears everywhere," Alli stated, raising a single brow as she turned to look Mando in his t-visor. She wasn't dumb enough to hope that she could sneak away and leave Mando to his fate. Imps always knew when another "asset" was involved. All it took was one person on any of the planets they had been to saying something within earshot of an Empire sympathizer and the news would get back to someone she would rather didn’t know her whereabouts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stared at each other for a long moment before Mando let out a deep sigh. “Fine. Kuiil will go back to the ship alone with the kid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here’s a comlink. I will keep the Child safe,” Kuiil said, looking at Aili first and then Mando before nodding and turning to look at Cara. “Don’t forget to cover your stripes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go,” Mando said, pulling his stun cuffs from his belt and handing them to Karga who placed them on his wrists quickly. Aili pulled her own cuffs out and passed them to Cara, holding her wrists out in front of her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karga cleared his throat awkwardly to catch their attention. "Sorry, they were quite clear that your hands should be bound from behind if caught." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili stared at Karga for a long moment, slowly counting to ten in her head. But she slowly moved her hands behind her back and turned around to let Cara fasten them. She tried not to flinch when she felt the cuffs being placed on her wrists. She didn't succeed but no one was stupid enough to make a comment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This hadn't been part of the deal at all. And once again Aili was left wondering who exactly they were dealing with. Not many would know to make sure to make it as difficult as possible for her to fight back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando and Aili watched as Cara took out a strip of cloth to cover her stripes, Kuiil checked over his own comlink, and Karga pulled out both of his blasters again, making sure they weren’t pointing at anyone just yet. Kuiil walked over and picked Little Green up from his cradle. Aili waited half a second before quietly calling for Kuiil to wait a moment. She walked forward, ignoring the look she got from Karga and she looked down at Little Green as best as she could since kneeling was not an option if she wanted to stand back up on her own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to be right back, I promise,” she kept her voice low enough only for Kuiil and Little Green to hear. She didn’t need Mando or Cara or even Karga commenting on how soft she had gotten. She could still kick every single one of their asses. Little Green made a quiet cooing sound, his ears going back as he looked up at Aili. She tried to give him a reassuring smile but she knew it was more of a grimace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With one last nod, she moved back to Mando’s side and Kuiil continued his walk back to the blurrg. Little Green staring at the rest of them from over the Ugnaught’s shoulder. With a deep sigh, they started the walk into town, a now closed and empty cradle floating behind them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The closer they got to town, the worse the feeling in Aili’s gut got. It was about to burst when they reached the entrance of town and she could see the troopers stationed at the gate with even more walking around beyond. That was already more than a fireteam and she shared a quick glance with Mando. One of the scout troopers got up and walked towards them lazily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chain code?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have a gift for the boss,” Karga said, gesturing slightly to his captives. “Several gifts, in fact.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chain code.” The trooper repeated, not caring in the slightest what Karga had just said. Karga sighed before passing along the chain code to the trooper who scanned it twice before looking back up. “I’ll give you twenty credits for the helmet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karga laughed, only sounding a little forced to Aili’s ears. “Not a chance! That’s going on my wall.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On your wall?” Mando muttered as lowly as he could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go with it,” Karga replied back just as quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, both of you.” Aili harshly whispered, still counting how many troopers she could see in town. Then she took stock of the weapons that they had brought with them. It wouldn’t be as easy as they had planned or hoped for, that was for certain now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go ahead,” the scout trooper said, handing Karga back the chain code and moved a little to the side to let them all pass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said there were four troopers," Cara attempted to keep her voice as low as possible. They didn't need to get any of the troopers attention any more than they already had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There are way more than that, Karga,” Aili added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Four guarding the Client. Many more here in town. Things got really heated once Mando crashed the safehouse.” Karga explained as if that made up for his white lie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t care about semantics,” Aili replied harshly. All she knew was that Karga had told them there was only a four person fire team while conveniently leaving out the fact that there were more in town surrounding them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Slip him his blaster, I’ll slip Aili hers," Cara suggested despite the fact that Aili wouldn't be able to use her blaster. Not with her hands behind her back still although that would be impressive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not yet." Karga kept moving towards the cantina where they used to do business. Aili almost missed it, almost. “Here we are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door opened without fanfare and Karga pushed Mando in first, Cara following behind him with a loose hand wrapped around Aili’s upper arm. True to his word, there were only four troopers in the cantina. Four troopers and the Client who stood at the sight of Mando and Karga.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look what I brought you. As promised.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Client's gaze went from Mando to Aili and the closed cradle beside them. “And so the Mandalorian is captured along with a bonus prize.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Client was everything that made Aili remember how much she hated the Empire. Even when she was doing their dirty work, she had hated every moment but didn’t see any other options other than dying. And that option had been taken off the table once she had decided she was done killing children for them but couldn't stand the thought of leaving them behind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seeing the way this man was looking at her was enough to make her stand up taller and stare him down like she had much higher ranked men. The fact that her hands were cuffed behind her was inconsequential, she didn't need her hands to take down a few troopers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What exquisite craftsmanship,” the Client said, reaching forward but not quite touching Mando’s armor. “It is amazing how beautiful beskar can be when forged by its ancestral artisans. Can I offer you a libation to celebrate the closing of our shared narrative?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would be obliged.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Client gestured for the droid behind the bar to pour drinks before he turned back to the group. “Please sit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karga pushed Mando forward a little and he shuffled onto the seat with as much dignity as he could with his hands bound. Karga sat down beside him which would hopefully make slipping him his blaster easier. Aili didn’t even attempt to sit, standing in front of Cara who was ready to help uncuff her as soon as she could. They didn’t expect more troopers to come into the cantina on some unseen orders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Client let out the fakest sigh that Aili had ever heard in her life. “It is a shame that your people suffered so. Just as in this situation, it was all avoidable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did Mandalore resist our expansion? The Empire improves every system it touches. Judge by any metric. Safety, prosperity, trade, opportunity, peace. Compare Imperial rule to what is happening now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili couldn’t stop the scoff that escaped her mouth. “Do you even hear yourself talk? You speak of safety but for who, the so-called Emperor? Prosperity? Half the planets that were under Imperial rule were full of slaves. Peace, what was peace during those times?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, so the Dragon can still speak," the Client said, looking over at Aili for the first time since they had first entered the building.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah I wasn’t one of the ones who lost their tongues," Aili said, making sure to bare her teeth as she gave the Client her best fake smile. She’d let the others figure out for themselves if she was joking or not. Which she wasn’t, unfortunately. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A pity and an error that can still be corrected," the Client said shortly. Mando tensed up in his seat not liking what the man in front of him was implying. He wished he had his blaster already so they could get this over with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d like to see you try."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara gave Aili a small shove to try to get her to shut up which she allowed for now. But she was still silently fuming, itching for her blaster so she could permanently shut up the Imp before them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is the world more peaceful since the revolution? I see nothing but death and chaos,” the Client continued his speech as if he hadn’t just been interrupted. He finally looked over at Karga. “I would like to see the baby.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, it is asleep,” Karga said, reaching forward to stop the Client from opening the cradle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We all will be quiet. Open the pram.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karga stared at the Client with an unreadable expression on his face. He was saved from having to say or do anything for a moment when one of the troopers stepped forward to speak to the Client. There was radio chatter that no one could clearly hear and then the Client stood up. Karga stood at the same time, hand still hovering above the empty cradle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t think me to be rude. I must take this call.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the Client walked away to where a trooper was setting up a holoprojector, Mando removed his stun cuffs. Aili did the same as quietly as she could, keeping a hold of them so they didn’t fall and catch anyone’s attention. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give me the blaster,” Mando whispered. Karga did so without question. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is bad, you said four,” Cara said, leaning down as casually as she could to speak to Karga. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well there are more. What can I tell you?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Client opened the call and Aili struggled to see who was on the other end. It wasn’t easy nor could she really hear anything. She didn’t get a chance to try to see or hear more when there were suddenly shots coming from the windows, hitting the Client and the troopers in the cantina. Mando flipped the table as fast as he could, reaching out to pull Aili behind it. Karga and Cara took cover as well, as shots continued to rain down on the room. Cara took the chance to pass Aili her blaster back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a break in the shots and after a few seconds of silence, Cara moved from behind the table to take cover behind a wall to the left wall of the cantina. Mando and Aili went towards the right while Karga went behind a wall just behind them. They all took the risk to glance out from behind cover to see troopers in all black lined up outside the window. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili turned back around, almost slamming her head back against the wall behind her. She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped that she was seeing things. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Death troopers never meant anything good. She didn’t have to look to hear the sounds of a transport moving in, nor did she have to look to hear even more troopers arrive outside the cantina. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is bad," Cara said simply like they didn't already know that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando brought up the comlink that Kuiil had given him earlier. “Kuiil? Are you back to the ship yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Are you there? Do you copy?” He tried again when Kuiil didn't respond as quickly as he would have liked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you back to the ship yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get back to the ship and bail. Get the kid out of here. We’re pinned down!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As if things weren’t already fucked, Aili heard the familiar sound of a TIE fighter coming in and landing nearby. She chanced a glance around Mando and watched as a man walked past the troopers who made way for him. As soon as she laid eyes on him she wished that she hadn't because now she knew how fucked they were. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have something I want.” The man started to speak, knowing they could hear him perfectly without him raising his voice more than necessary. Knew they would now be hanging on his every word to try to figure out who they were up against. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who’s this guy?” Cara asked. If they weren’t in such deep shit, Aili would have laughed at the way she said it. But this really wasn’t the time to laugh, not when there was a Moff coming their way. From beside her, Mando had gone stiff and she wondered if he was aware of who their true enemy was as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You may think you have some idea of what you are in possession of, but you do not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kuiil, are you back to the ship yet? They’re onto us!” Mando waited a few seconds for a response before trying again. “Kuiil, come in!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In a few moments, it will be mine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili wished that she had brought a sniper rifle, she could take out this Moff and then they’d see how many troopers would scatter. Then it would just be a matter of taking out the ones who stayed. Anything to make this day go by faster.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kuiil, do you copy? Kuiil!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It means more to me than you will ever know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kuiil! Are you there? Come in, Kuiil!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando, why isn’t he answering?” Aili questioned, eyes wide. Mando wasn’t sure if the emotion in them was more fear or anger. Maybe it was a mixture of both which wasn’t something he thought he had ever seen in Aili’s eyes. The fear reminded him of when she had the concussion and didn’t know where the kid was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wished that he could give her an answer but he didn't have one. He kept trying to hail Kuiil on the comlink, sounding more and more desperate for a response as there continued to be no response. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had known this was a trap, they just hadn't known how well thought out it really was. And now they had to reap the consequences and hope they came out of this with their lives. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter Twenty-One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They're stuck in a cantina, Kuiil isn't answering the comlink, they don't know if Little Green is even safe and there's a Moff with a whole squadron of Troopers with their blasters pointing at them. How the hell are they going to make it out of this one?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for posting this so late, I meant to work on this in the morning but then I had to go get a COVID test (which is hopefully just me over-reacting with allergies) but it took about two hours to figure out where to even go for a PCR test which is what my work requires.  UPDATE: IT WAS NEGATIVE, I AM ECSTATIC </p><p>I hope the length of the chapter makes up for it because it was originally going to be 1k shorter. Again, thank you to everyone who is reading this, I love each of you for doing so.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Is there another way out?” Cara asked after finally getting tired of the standoff that they were stuck in. After the man had finished speaking he proceeded to just stand there. Waiting. Presumably for whichever troopers he had sent after the kid to get back either empty handed or with his prize. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili was stupidly holding onto a small amount of hope that Kuiil had dropped his comlink and was waiting on the Crest. She knew he wasn't though. But keeping that small bit of hope was the only thing stopping her from taking the risk of outright attacking the Imps holding them hostage. That and their lack of decent weapons. She could only do so much against an entire squadron of Storm Troopers and a team of Death Troopers under the command of a Moff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, that’s it,” Karga said, pointing out the open window with his blaster. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili paused for half a second, tilting her head to the side and wondering how she could be so stupid to forget, before she tapped on Mando’s chest piece to get his attention. When he glanced down at her she pointed to the ground with her blaster. She hoped he got her meaning because it was technically his secret to tell if Karga didn’t already know about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His helmet cocked to the side before he looked over at where Karga was. “What about the sewers?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sewers?” Karga questioned, wondering why Mando would want to know about the sewers of all things at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Mandalorians have a Covert down in the sewers. If we can get down there, they can help us escape,” Mando explained as quickly as he could. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it before now and he wasn’t going to dwell on the fact that it had taken Aili to remind him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not only that but if we can get down there that means access to a ship if we can’t get to the Crest by foot,” Aili added. She was weighing all of their options now. If they got down to the Covert, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to leave any of the girls behind this time. Not with a Moff breathing down their necks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In fact she knew that if they went down there, </span>
  <em>
    <span>everyone </span>
  </em>
  <span>would have to leave or fight. No matter what there would be losses, she just hoped it would be more troopers than Mandalorians. If anyone hated the Empire more than she did, it was Mandalorians. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>From across the way, Cara nodded her head in agreement, “I like that plan, sewers and another ship are good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Checking for access points,” Mando said, bringing up his arm to set his t-visor to scan the building they were stuck in. Logically there had to be an access point somewhere in a cantina but even Aili knew that Nevarro was weird. She had long since given up on trying to understand how anything was set up in town. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell are they even waiting for?” Cara questioned, checking back out the window once more to see if anyone had so much as moved a foot out of place. Not that she wanted them to attack now that they had an almost way out but she was surprised that they hadn’t taken them out yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili leaned around Mando, keeping out of his line of sight (not that it was hard to do since she was so much shorter than him) and watched as several troopers came back carrying parts of a weapon. “Oh fuck me,” she said, louder than she meant to as she turned back around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll second that because they’re setting up an E-Web,” Cara said, letting the back of her head lightly hit the wall she was hiding behind. They were really screwed now if Mando couldn’t find a way into the sewers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s over,” Karga said bluntly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando ignored them all as best as he could, still scanning the room for a way out. He barely stopped himself from releasing an audible sigh of relief when he finally found one. “I found a vent.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Cara said, relief in her voice for the first time but it was still clouded by tension. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to be here when they get that thing put together,” Aili added. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando and Cara were quick to run to the back of the room, tossing aside the chairs that were covering the vent. Aili kept looking back at them before checking the progress on the E-Web set up. They were quickly running out of time. What storm troopers lacked in aiming, they apparently made up for in setting up guns. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not to rush you two but…” Aili trailed off,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s assembled! How long is that going to take you?” Karga finished what Aili was saying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Blow it,” Cara said, stepping back to give Mando room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m out of charges,” Mando replied, wincing from behind his helmet knowing that wasn’t the answer anyone was going to want to hear. Least of all...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili spun around to glare at the back of Mando’s helmet. “What do you mean you’re out of charges?” She couldn’t believe he would even be stupid enough to walk into an obvious trap without every weapon he always had on him. She knew she didn’t bring much either but she wasn’t the one who was usually a walking armory. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara picked up the blaster rifle she had taken from the weapons locker, “Move out of the way!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was the only warning she gave Mando before she started shooting at the vent in an attempt to get it open. Aili winced at the sound knowing that they’d be able to hear it from outside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your astute panic suggests that you understand your situation. I would prefer to avoid any further violence and encourage a moment of consideration,” the Moff spoke again as soon as Cara stopped shooting. Her attempt to kick the vent in was unsuccessful as it didn’t even move an inch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Members of my escort have completed assembly of an E-Web heavy repeating blaster. If you are unfamiliar with this weapon,” He paused for half a second before continuing, his tone somehow more smug than it already was. “I am sure that Republican Shock Trooper Carasynthia Dune of Alderaan will advise you that she has witnessed many of her ranks vaporized mid-descent facing the predecessor of this particular model.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara turned at the sound of her full name, eyes narrowed as she wondered how this man that she had never met before knew exactly who she was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe Aili Verdella, formerly AL-1284, Dragon Leader of the Krayt Dragon Program recalls using weapons of this sort on multiple planets against innumerable Rebels and Rebel sympathizers. The New Republic would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> interested in knowing your current location but I think you know where you really belong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not gonna happen any time soon.” AIli muttered to herself and although she would deny it if anyone asked, her heart was beating a little faster. From anger or fright, she wasn’t sure at the moment. She had expected Imps but she hadn’t expected a Moff. This was more than any of them had bargained for. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But now she was even more determined to keep Little Green out of the Empire's grasp. Nothing a Moff could want with him could be good and she'd rather die than let them have another child. He could bring up as much of her past as he wanted but if he thought that was going to shake her, he was sorely mistaken. He was just making her more pissed off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or perhaps the decommissioned Mandalorian hunter, Din Djarin, has heard the songs of the Siege of Mandalore, when gunships fitted with similar ordnance laid waste to fields of Mandalorian recruits in The Night of a Thousand Tears.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando had turned to stare out the window when he heard his name, a name that no one should know, spoken for the first time since he had taken the Creed. He was beginning to understand who they were up against and it was worse than he thought. He avoided looking towards where Aili was, unsure what he would see on her face. He missed the way the hard look in her eyes softened for a moment before she turned back around to glare out the window. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I advise disgraced Magistrate Greef Karga to search the wisdom of his years and urge you to lay down your arms and come outside. The structure you are trapped in will be razed in short order and your storied lives will come to an unceremonious end.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does this guy actually hear himself speak?” Aili questioned, not expecting an answer from anyone. She figured that if she was still a little taken aback by this man knowing her old designation in the Program, Mando and Cara were probably a little more than shaken up. Mando more than Cara. She was angry on his behalf, because now everyone knew his name and he hadn’t even freely given it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you propose?” Karga shouted out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Reasonable negotiation.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even the way he said that almost made a chill run down Aili’s spine. She didn’t want to find out how negotiations would go with the Moff. If only because she already knew the answer and she didn’t like it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What assurance do you offer?” Karga tried again to get a decent answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you’re asking if you can trust me, you cannot. Just as you betrayed our business arrangement, I would gladly break any promise and watch you die at my hand.” The Moff said and finally for the first time, they could hear the sadistic nature in his voice. The one that every high-ranking officer in the Empire had. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The assurance I give is this: I will act in my own self-interest which at this time involves your cooperation and benefit. I will give you until nightfall and then I will have the E-Web cannon open fire.” And then he turned around and walked away with the Death Troopers following behind him. The rest of the Storm Troopers stayed exactly where they were, including the ones waiting to man the E-Web. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I say we hear him out,” Karga said as he turned to look at Mando and Cara who were still standing in by the vent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you crazy or just stupid?” Aili asked before she could stop herself. She had heard a lot of stupid things from people recently but this one was the dumbest. Negotiating with a Moff? That would never go their way even if he made it seem like it would.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The minute we open that door, we’re dead,” Cara added knowing that negotiations weren’t even really an option. She moved from where she was standing, keeping her head low just in case any of the troopers outside decided to be dumb and shoot at them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re dead if we don’t. At least out there we’ve got a shot,” Karga tried to argue, not knowing that everyone else had already made up their minds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s easy for you to say. I’m a Rebel Shock Trooper, they’ll upload me to a mind flayer,’ Cara argued, kneeling down beside one of the dead troopers and stripping him of his weapons before moving on to the next one. It wasn’t much but it was more than they had come in with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Those aren’t real, just wartime propaganda,” Karga dismissed her worry easily. He had heard all of the propaganda during the war, none had any actual proof behind them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, those are very real,” Aili stated as she skirted around the wall to join the rest of them. Not that being further back would do much to protect her if and when they started to operate the E-Web. Nothing would help once that happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not helping,” Cara stated, giving Aili a heated look. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I didn’t realize that I needed to comfort anyone right now,” Aili snapped. “But none of you </span>
  <em>
    <span>betrayed</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Empire and stole so-called property from them. Sure, Mando broke an agreement with this guy, but I took out a whole base and ran off millions of credits worth of assets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I already know how these negotiations will go, he’s going to want the kid </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> me if only so they can fully punish me and then after they break me, they’ll have me kill for them again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t go back there again. They’d make sure that she couldn’t get away this time, give her a shock collar and then probably set an interrogation droid on her. Not even to get information, just to torture her until she broke and then they would really get down to business. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And if the interrogation droid didn’t work, they’d just keep trying every method in the book until they got what they wanted. Their Dragon Leader back and answering only to them. They’d make her hunt down anyone they wanted, probably make her bring back all the girls she helped escape first. That way they’d have a whole team to work with again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not going to happen,” Mando said shortly, his jaw clenched behind his helmet. He wouldn’t let negotiations end that way, not if he could help it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then unless we can come up with some brilliant escape plan,” Aili said, throwing her arms out to the side. She didn’t see one and she didn’t like that. Didn’t like that she could only see one outcome unless they could get into the sewers without drawing attention. And before nightfall which wouldn’t take very much longer to come. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m shooting my way out of here,” Cara stated as if it would be as easy as that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That'll go over well. This isn’t like Sorgan or even like the war,” Aili tried to reason with Cara. She understood the need to get out of there as quickly as possible, but shooting their way out didn’t seem possible at the moment. All of the thoughts running through her head weren’t helping her come up with a plan though. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about you, Mando?” Karga turned to look at the only person who hadn’t said much about their predicament. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know who he is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a scoff, louder than she intentioned. “Yeah, a Moff, I think we should all know that much just from uniform alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s Moff Gideon.” Mando stated without any lead in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That caught Aili’s attention as she looked at Mando with confusion. Sure, she had known it was a Moff they were facing but she hadn’t known his name. Every “division” of the Empire had been kept away from each other, that way if one was taken down there were several more to fall back on and keep the Empire going. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Moff Gideon was executed for war crimes.” It was Cara’s turn to look at Mando like he had lost his mind. She didn’t know much but she knew Moff Gideon’s fate after the war had ended. Every Rebel did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s him. He knew my name,” Mando said, knowing that wouldn’t make it any clearer for anybody. Except maybe Aili who knew that he was a foundling just like the four foundlings she sponsored. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So? What does that prove?” Karga questioned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t heard that name spoken since I was a child.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On Mandalore?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was not born on Mandalore,” Mando replied, shaking his helmet barely enough for anyone to notice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you’re a Mandalorian,” Karga said, confusion on his face and in his voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mandalorians aren’t all from Mandalore. It’s not a race,” Aili stated, thinking of the four girls that she had brought to the Armorer and of the little Mando had revealed back on Sorgan when Omera had asked about the helmet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a Creed.” Mando said, thinking back to the day he had lost everything but gained everything at the same time. It wasn’t a day he particularly liked to think about. “I was a foundling. They raised me in the Fighting Corps. I was treated as one of their own and when I came of age, I was sworn to the Creed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The only record of my family name was in the registers of Mandalore. Moff Gideon was an ISB officer during the Purge. That’s how I know it’s him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s how he knows who we all are,” Cara added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He says he needs us which means L...the Child got away safely. I was worried when Kuiil didn’t respond but if they’d captured the kid, we’d already be dead.” Even though his words said he had hope that Kuiil had made it to the Crest, Aili could hear the way his voice sounded almost...empty. Like he didn’t actually believe the words coming out of his own mouth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not necessarily,” Aili said slowly. “I know how the Empire works, remember? As much as I don’t want to even say it, he could be waiting until he has the kid physically in his hands. And once he does, he’ll kill us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Once again, not helping. Hail them again,” Cara said as she walked past Aili and Mando to take over the spot where they had previously been taking cover. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando raised the comlink, hoping that he was right and Aili was wrong for once. “Come in Kuiil. Kuiil? Nothing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They might have jammed the link,” Cara said, desperate for something to go their way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili was about to say something when the comlink suddenly beeped and they could all hear Little Green cooing over it. But it also didn’t sound like he was on the Crest, the sound of a speeder bike beneath the coos. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kuiil has been terminated,” IG-11 said from over the comlink and Aili looked up at Mando. She actually didn’t know what to think at the moment. But she knew Mando wouldn’t like that answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did you do?” Mando ground out, fist tight around the comlink. He knew that he should’ve fought Kuiil harder against bringing the droid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am fulfilling my base function,” IG-11 replied in short manner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which is?” Mando questioned, voice still as tense as his shoulders were now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To nurse and protect.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the kriff is that thing talking about?” Aili asked, looking straight into Mando’s t-visor when he finally looked at her. He shook his helmet at the same time as shrugging his shoulders. He had no idea what exactly Kuiil had done when reprogramming the droid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then the sound of blasters going off sounded, including the sound of ones attached to speeder bikes. Everyone looked around at each other in confusion before Cara peeked around the corner of the wall to see all of the troopers outside turn to face where the attack was coming from. There were several explosions further away from them but no one could tell where they were coming from. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look!” Cara’s exclamation brought everyone’s attention to the window again. Mando and Aili quickly joined Cara while Karga took another shot of alcohol before joining them. Every trooper had now turned to face the incoming threat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that…” Aili didn’t even get to finish her question when IG-11 jumped off the speeder bike, letting it crash into several troopers before it crashed and caused an explosion. Cara ducked down while Mando took cover behind the wall again, reaching out to pull Aili behind cover as well when she didn’t move. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cover me.” Mando looked down at Aili before he made a move towards the door. Aili didn’t let him get very far, her grip on his arm tight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili looked up at Mando with a hard stare. “I’m going with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aili, for once can you listen to me?” They didn’t have time to argue about this and yet here they were. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We agreed nothing would change,” Aili glared up at Mando. She knew that if she hadn’t let things change between them, he wouldn’t be second guessing her joining him out in the fight. He hadn’t cared when they were on Sorgan, or Tatooine, or even the prison job. But now suddenly she was delegated to cover fire for him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aili, please.” Mando said shortly, ignoring the looks they were getting from Cara and Karga. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili stared up at Mando with anger in her eyes and a growing feeling of wanting to smack him upside the head. But they didn’t really have the time to argue. “Fine,” she ground out, teeth clenched. “But we’re gonna have words when this is over.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara hopped on top of the bar and started up her repeating blaster, taking out a good amount of troopers nearby. Mando made his way out the door, taking out the troopers stationed right outside easily while Aili and Karga gave him cover fire from that end. Aili didn’t mean to flinch when one of the Death Troopers shot at Mando but the blast reflected off his beskar easily even from up close. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shot one before another grabbed him and threw him to the ground but before the trooper could shoot him, he kicked up and Aili shot him down in the time it took Mando to get back up. From there it was easier, taking out Storm Troopers until they all saw IG-11 get shot in the legs and hit the ground, protecting the Child with its body. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando!” Aili shouted over the sound of blasters going off everywhere including her own. He turned to look at her. “The E-Web!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was right by it and all the troopers were too far away to get to it before him. He wasted no time in picking up the canon and taking out the troopers around them. That gave IG-11 the chance to stand back up and move towards the open cantina door where Karga and Aili were. Everything was going too smoothly and that was when there was a blast from the entrance of the cantina where Cara was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck,” Aili hissed out, unable to hear the sound of Cara’s rifle anymore. She was about to yell for Karga to head back inside when she heard it start up again, taking out any troopers that had made it in. By the time she looked back over towards Mando, she saw Moff Gideon raise a blaster up and without thinking she shot out at him. She hit him on the shoulder so his own shot didn’t meet its target. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando still let out a surprised shout at the blaster shot hitting him from behind, bending over a little and losing his grip on the E-Web for a moment. He shook it off, picking up the canon and turning to face Moff Gideon. Before either he or Aili could even attempt to take a shot at him, he shot the box of ammunition causing an explosion bigger than the one from the speeder bike. Karga turned away from it, hitting the cantina wall while Aili took cover back inside the cantina. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the fire died down, she felt her heart stop for a moment when she saw Mando laying on the ground. He wasn’t even attempting to get back up. Karga started giving cover fire again for IG-11 who kept moving towards the cantina as best as it could. A quick glance into the cantina and Aili could see Cara moving towards the back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cara!” Aili shouted out for the other woman to move as fast as she could. With a quick glance towards Karga who gave her a nod, she ran out and met Cara beside Mando. Aili nodded for Cara to pick up Mando while she gave her close cover fire as they walked as fast as they could back to the cantina. IG-11 and Karga picked up the slack when Aili stopped to help Cara drag Mando into the cantina. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as Karga and IG-11 were inside the door shut behind them, cutting off Moff Gideon and his troopers. Aili and Cara laid Mando against one of the chairs that they had upturned earlier. Aili turned to Cara, “I got this, go keep watch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really but I can handle it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is our only path out,” Karga said to IG-11. “Can you clear it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The droid walked over to the vent and placed the Child down before looking down at Karga. “If you go near this child, I will have no choice but to kill you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I understand, can you do anything to move the grate,” Karga replied, still keeping a lookout for any troopers. Cara joined him although she kept looking over to where Mando and Aili were every couple of seconds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, of course,” IG-11 said in reply to Karga’s rushed question. He sounded annoyingly calm in the way only a droid could be in this situation. He started cutting through the vent easily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili looked over Mando for any obvious wounds but didn’t see any which meant he was either bruised to hell and back beneath the armor or the beskar was hiding all of it. She looked down at him as calmly as she could, “I’m just going to check the back of your head, no removing the helmet, promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t wait for his response before she did as she said, her eyes going wide the second she felt exactly what she didn’t want to feel. “Oh shit,” Aili muttered, pulling her hand away from the back of Mando’s helmet. It was covered in blood, more than it should be which meant a severe head wound. This was obviously worse than a simple concussion. Much worse. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine.” Mando said, looking up at Aili from behind his helmet. He was impressed by the way she was almost calmly going through the med bag she had brought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No it’s not,” she said, her eyes wide as all of her senses went into overdrive. She tried to take a breath, tried to recall all of her field medical training. Head wounds had levels though and after a certain point they had been taught to cut their losses, mercy kill if necessary. But that wasn't going to happen here. Wasn’t even an option. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She just had to figure out a way to help him.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter Twenty-Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mando is dying and there's only so much Aili can do without convincing him to remove his helmet. Not to mention the Storm Troopers and Moff Gideon still breathing down their necks. IG-11 just needs to hurry up and get the vent into the sewers open.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This was supposed to be the penultimate chapter and then it got way too long (6k to be exact) so now it's the chapter BEFORE the penultimate chapter. Oops.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Aili cursed quietly as she all but emptied out the entire contents of her med bag. She was not going to be able to get annoyed with Mando being out of charges now because somehow she hadn’t brought any bacta spray with her. She knew that Cara only had bacta patches and not many since she had used at least one on Karga the night before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not gonna make it. You need to go,” Mando said, his breathing a little labored as he tried to speak through the pain.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, you’re gonna be fine,” Aili replied quickly, bringing her hand back up to try to feel exactly where Mando’s wound was. She tried to hold back another curse when she realized that it had to be inside the helmet, further than she could reach without removing it. "You are not dying here."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I am,” Mando said, wincing in pain behind his helmet. He was glad she couldn’t see his face or the blood covering it now. He knew she wouldn’t be able to heal him while he still wore the helmet and removing it wasn’t an option. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t. Not if surviving meant he would be turning his back on the only life he had known since he was a child. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, you are not dying on a dirty cantina floor, just let me take off the helmet so we can fix your stupid head." Aili went to lift the helmet when Mando grabbed her by the wrists as tightly as he could while in pain. She let out an annoyed growl but let him lower her hands anyway. She wouldn’t do that without his permission but she didn’t want him to die either. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, leave me. Make sure Little Green is safe.” Mando hoped that using the nickname Aili had given the kid would make her take pause. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’ll be fine because we’ll both be there to protect him,” Aili reasoned with him. He was just being dramatic like when he asked for her to give cover fire rather than use her numerous skills to help take down the troopers outside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you need to go,” Mando said, having to pause a few times despite the short sentence. He had yet to let go of Aili's wrists but he was simply holding them now. She hadn’t even tried to pull them away for once which was a surprise to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bantha shit, I’m not leaving you here because you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> dying.” Aili didn’t know how many more times she needed to say it for it to get through his thick head. Obviously it wasn’t clicking for him but she was going to blame the blood loss and probable concussion for now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando let go of one of her wrists to pull something from around his neck off, handing it to Aili. She was surprised to see it almost matched the medallion that the Armorer had given her all those months ago. “When you get to the Covert, you show them that...tell them it’s from Din Djarin and that the foundling was in our protection, the Armorer and o-your </span>
  <em>
    <span>ade</span>
  </em>
  <span> will vouch for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You tell them yourself,” Aili said stubbornly. If she had to drag him down into the Covert herself. She knew Cara would help if she asked. She missed the way he tripped over his words figuring that the blood loss was finally getting to him. If he passed out that would make it easier for them to drag him along with them once IG-11 got the vent open. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aili…I--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a blast of fire coming from the window that the troopers had shot open. Aili threw herself over Mando to cover him from the flames. So much for her not caring. She really hated Incinerator Troopers and she wasn’t sure why she was surprised Moff Gideon had one with him. When the burst of flame went away, she pushed herself back up. Mando let out a pained groan as Aili glanced around to make sure Little Green was okay as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She let out a quiet sigh of relief when she saw him standing there, near Cara and Karga, perfectly fine even as he kept looking at them with his wide brown eyes. She looked over to the IG unit who was still working on the vent. “Get that vent open! Now!” She shouted, her voice steady for the most part. If there was a slight wobble near the end, Mando wasn't about to comment on it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You protect the kid, I can hold them back long enough for you to escape.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now I know you’re brain damaged,” Aili shot back quickly. “I am not leaving you here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando let out a sigh that was barely audible. “Let me have a warrior’s death and take care of the kid, for the both of us.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I. Am not. Leaving you here,” Aili repeated herself, glaring down at Mando now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is the Way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well it’s not my way,” Aili said shortly. She ignored the small part of herself that told her she had left behind people hurt way less in the interest of staying alive. She hadn’t cared back then, had only cared about finishing the missions she was sent on. There was another short burst of fire, Aili ducking over Mando to cover him again and when she looked up, she wished she hadn’t. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Incinerator Trooper walked into the cantina, quickly scanning the room for them. As soon as they were in his sight, he lifted his flamethrower up again aiming it straight at them all. From this close, nothing would stop the flames from hitting any of them. Aili looked over at Little Green in a panic when she saw him standing right in the line of fire. She tried to reach over Mando to pull Little Green towards them but she couldn’t reach him without leaving Mando’s side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the flames shot forward, everyone ducked down so they wouldn’t have to see it coming. When all Aili felt was the heat but not the flames on her skin, she looked back up in confusion. Mando brought his own head up as much as he could, gritting his teeth in pain as he did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Little Green was using whatever powers he had to hold back the flames and they all stared as it looked like the fire hit a wall. He threw his little hand back and the fire flew back towards the trooper, throwing him out of the cantina with a surprised scream that was cut short as the flames overtook him. As Little Green fell back, cooing as his eyes closed, IG-11 finally got the vent open. Aili left Mando’s side long enough to scoop Little Green into her arms and away from the fire now spreading throughout the cantina.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, it’s open!” Karga shouted towards them. He didn’t want to spend another second in the cantina as it started to burn. He also didn’t want to wait for any more Troopers to get inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go,” Mando said, his voice rougher than before. He took as good a look as he could from where he was laying at Aili and the kid in her arms. “You need to go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I...we can’t just leave you here,” Aili still tried to argue. Mando was shocked that she was still trying to argue when they both knew he was dying. There wasn’t anything she could do for him and now that the kid was knocked out, neither could he with his strange powers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cara,” Mando called out as best as he could to the Shock Trooper. When Cara looked over at them he tilted his helmet towards Aili. “Take her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite the fact that she knew Aili would be pissed at her, Cara did as Mando asked and dragged the smaller woman up off of the floor being careful when she saw the kid in her arms. As expected, Aili fought against Cara’s hold even as she was getting all but carried over to the open vent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me go,” Aili wrenched herself out of Cara’s grasp, giving the woman a glare before she turned it to where Mando was still laying. She couldn’t believe he would...actually yes she could believe that he would have Cara try to drag her out of there without him. She did not spend months of her life on that piece of crap ship, away from her girls, just for him to decide to die from an easy to fix wound. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will stay with the Mandalorian, you protect the Child,” IG-11 said as it walked over to them. Of all the humans gathered there, the IG unit knew that the one currently holding the Child would be its best protector. Even with her emotions clouding her judgement at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili paused for a long moment, looking down at Mando before she finally looked up at IG-11 with a dark look in her eyes. “You better bring him or I’ll shoot you myself and no one will be able to fix you this time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Understood,” IG-11 said, holding out the bag that the Child had been in when the Scout Troopers had taken him. Aili took the bag, placing the sleeping child inside before she looked back down at Mando with an unreadable expression on her face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay alive.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without waiting for Mando to reply, she turned to go down the vent, Cara following after her to make sure she didn’t try to head back when no one was looking. As soon as they were all in the sewers, Aili took the lead in front of Karga. It wouldn’t take them long to get to the Covert from the cantina if she remembered correctly. She just hoped she didn’t get turned around since she had never come in from the actual entrance aside from the very first time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know where we’re going?” Cara questioned, shock on her face. She had been sure that they were going to be stuck wandering around the sewers for at least a few minutes before getting their bearings. Unless Mando had been able to give Aili directions in between arguing with her about him staying behind. Somehow Cara doubted that was the case though. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, might take a while longer though, I never came in from the cantina,” Aili said flippantly. She didn’t elaborate any further than that despite the looks she was now getting from Cara and Karga. They didn’t need to know how or why she knew the way to the Covert. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are still full of surprises,” Cara commented. Everytime she thought she knew even half of the things about Aili, the smaller woman went and purposely made herself more mysterious. This was actually more shocking to Cara than when she figured out that Mando and Aili had finally slept together, them not actually being together was less of a surprise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have no idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They continued down the tunnels in mostly silence, Little Green had woken up at some point. He still let out tired coos which Aili couldn’t fault him for given how much energy he must have used to hold back the flames. They were getting closer to a part of the Covert that Aili recognized, close to where she usually snuck in from to be exact when there was a muffled explosion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone turned around, ready to start shooting again if they had to. There was a bright light coming their way paired with steady footsteps. Aili tilted her head trying to figure out if she was only hearing one set or two sets of footsteps. She hoped that the droid had been smart enough to stay behind in the cantina if Mando didn’t make it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The relief she felt when she saw Mando and IG-11 come around the corner was short-lived as it was quickly replaced by her earlier anger with the Mandalorian. She let Cara move to help Mando stand, it wasn’t like she’d be very helpful anyway with her lack of height. Besides she was still carrying Little Green and she wasn’t nearly as upset with him as she was Mando. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know which way to go?” Karga asked Mando when they came to what seemed like a fork in the road. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I don’t know these tunnels. I only ever entered from the bazaar,” Mando said, looking from left to right, unsure exactly where they were but he knew they couldn’t stop moving. It wouldn’t take long for Moff Gideon to realize where they had gone and send Troopers down into the tunnels after them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s this way,” Aili said, nodding her head towards the right tunnel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?” Mando asked, not because he doubted her answer but he still wasn’t even sure where they were. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili looked over at Mando with a single raised eyebrow. “It’s not like I could use the front entrance any of the times I came down here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, what?” Cara asked, almost missing a step forward. “Exactly how many times have you been down here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Every time I finished a job, it’s not that big of a deal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But why come down here when you’re not--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, this isn’t the time or the place and no offense but I’m not gonna be giving answers anyway,” Aili interrupted before Cara could finish her sentence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence fell over them for a moment before Karga spoke, choosing to pick a different subject. “If we get the smell of sulfur and follow it, it’ll lead us up to the plains where the river flows.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And the Imps will catch us before we make it to the ship. We need the Mandalorians to escort us to safety,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And we need to warn them about the Imps heading their way,” Aili added without mentioning why warning them was needed. The existence of all of the other foundlings was something that could and would stay between her and Mando unless Cara and Karga saw them with their own eyes. She knew that if they did, they’d agree with keeping children out of the line of fire. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They turned down another tunnel that Aili pointed out and she could tell that at least two of them were doubting her directions. She couldn’t blame them, it wasn’t exactly easy trying to keep all the tunnels straight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This place is a maze!” Cara exclaimed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going the right way,” Aili said although now she was beginning to doubt herself a little. She had come through from so many different ways to avoid any Mandalorians on guard that they were all blending together in her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop,” Mando suddenly said, pulling away from Cara and Karga. “I can stand.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The bacta infusion is working,” IG-11 said and Aili slowly turned around to stare straight into Mando’s t-visor. So he let the droid remove his helmet after all? Even as she narrowed her eyes at him she had to admit that it made sense, no living thing could see his face and droids were technically not alive. Loopholes. Something they had clearly utilized after the disaster of a prison break. She shook the thought away, it was not the time or place to think about that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll try to find tracks,” Mando said, looking at the ground for a moment before pointing down the tunnel. “We’re close.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I could have told you that,” Aili said, pursing her lips in annoyance. But she kept her mouth shut and let Mando take the lead now since it would be faster for him to follow the tracks with his helmet. She followed right behind him, Cara and Karga behind her, and IG-11 in the rear. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Turn here.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He led them into what Aili would assume was the main hallway which she had never actually seen before. She had always taken a different way, one that came out closer to the Armorer in order to not be seen by anyone else. Mando suddenly stopped in his tracks, shutting off his flashlight, and spun around to face them, specifically looking down at Aili. The way he was standing blocked her view of whatever was behind him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” She raised an eyebrow wondering what he had seen. It couldn’t have been a dead end or anything like that. And it was quiet behind him so it wasn’t another Mandalorian.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wrong way,” Mando said shortly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s not,” Aili stated, narrowing her eyes up at Mando. She may have never been this way but it was obviously the right way for someone who unlike her was a Mandalorian. She tilted her head and quicker than he could attempt to stop her, she ducked under his arms and stopped in her tracks when she saw what he was trying to hide from her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aili, no--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili slapped a hand over her mouth before she could say anything else, her eyes wide at the pile of armor before her. She knew she had missed Madsin’s birthday, had missed her swearing the Creed, which meant her armor could be in that pile and she would have no way of knowing. Meaning that would have left the other three without Aili </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> their big sister. Shaeli and Jaesa were still so young and Sula...she still looked to Aili and Madsin for answers sometimes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t do anything other than watch as Mando slowly moved forward to kneel down in front of the pile. He picked up one of the helmets and she wondered if he remembered who it had belonged to. A stupid thought considering how close knit the Covert was, Aili recalled learning several names that she would never be able to put a face or helmet to but Shaeli and Jaesa were hard to settle down when they shared stories of the Covert. Little Green let out a sad coo when Aili unconsciously tightened her grip on the bag he was in, holding him closer against herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should keep moving,” Cara said quietly. She could understand why Mando was upset but Aili’s reaction was once again a surprise. It wasn't like she had ever mentioned knowing any other Mandalorians. But the smaller woman still had secrets that Cara didn’t know about since she hadn’t spent months on a ship with her. Mando had obviously been trying to keep Aili from seeing the armor for a reason though. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You go. Take the ship. I can’t leave it this way,” Mando said in a clipped tone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you know about this?” Aili suddenly spun around to stare at Karga. He was the only one who could have called for an attack like this. Could have done it as soon as the Razor Crest took off all those months ago. She was so stupid, she should have fought harder to have the Armorer give her permission to help evacuate the foundlings immediately. She should have been there for...she should have known...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! When you two left the system and took the prize, the fighting ended and the hunters just melted away. You both know how it is. They’re mercenaries, they’re not zealots!” Karga exclaimed and Aili was ready to argue with him when Mando beat her to it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you do this? Did you?” Mando got up quickly, getting into Karga’s face and shouting despite his voice still being rough and shaky from the still ebbing pain in both his head and body. It was taking most of his willpower to stay standing upright but now his grief and anger was fueling him on. He hadn’t seen any foundling sized armor in the pile yet but from what he knew, the oldest of Aili’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>ade</span>
  </em>
  <span> wouldn’t have child-sized armor anymore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was not his fault,” a voice familiar to both Aili and Mando said from another tunnel. The Armorer walked out, still looking like she had the last time Aili had seen her. The only difference was that she carried herself with what looked like the weight of the galaxy on her shoulders now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We revealed ourselves. We knew what could happen if we left the Covert. The Imperials arrived shortly thereafter, this is what resulted.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did any survive?” Mando asked, trying desperately to keep his gaze on the Armorer rather than turning to look over at Aili. He didn’t want to see her face if the Armorer gave bad news. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, though I do not know how many,” the Armorer said before turning to look over at Aili who had taken in a sharp breath. “Aili Verdella, you should know that your </span>
  <em>
    <span>ade</span>
  </em>
  <span> are with what remains of the covert.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re--” Aili cut herself off, unsure she could even trust herself to finish her sentence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your ship was used to reach Oshriya. Your oldest said they owed you a favor and from there I do not know, only that the plan was to sell your ship for enough credits to spare for safe passage off planet,” the Armorer explained simply as she picked up the closest piece of armor on the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They sold my ship?” Just like that, Aili went from being happy they were still alive to wanting to kill them herself. She had spent thousands of credits on that ship, making it livable and able to transport several bounties at once if needed. Had even made sure all of the crew quarters were ready just in case.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you really getting mad about a ship?” Now Mando turned to look at Aili, disbelief in his voice. He would have expected her to be relieved at the very least. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was a Glowzee-class, fully customized! Yes, yes I am now that I know they’re not dead. But they’re gonna wish they were when we find them." Aili was aware that it was stupid but she knew that it would have been Madsin’s idea to sell the ship and she would have been the only one brave enough to suggest it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s got a point, Mando. That was probably a beautiful ship,” Cara said, wincing at the thought of losing a ship like that. Glowzees were not easy to come by, especially now in the New Republic. Only ship harder to get was a Razor Crest but no one really wanted those very much. Glowzees though...those were the equivalent of beskar to someone who wanted a ship off the grid for any reason. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we focus on the Imps that are still coming after us?” Mando said before Aili could go off about the ship. He agreed that a Glowzee-class ship was a terrible thing to lose but he wasn’t about to let Aili know that. Not until they were out of the very real danger of not being able to make it back to the Razor Crest. But now he understood why she always liked to comment on everything she didn’t like about his ship, it was definitely a step down from her own ship. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come with us.” Mando directed towards the Armorer who had been picking up pieces of armor and placing them in a bin as they spoke. Of course no one could see the look she was giving Mando and Aili from behind her helmet, the knowing look in her eyes along with a small smile playing at her lips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will not abandon this place until I have salvaged what remains.” The Armorer placed one more piece of armor into the bin before pushing it into the Forge. Mando and Aili followed after her silently while Cara and Karga gave each other a confused look before they too went into the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Show me the one whose safety deemed such destruction,” the Armorer said after she placed a cuirass into the Forge to melt it down. Aili stepped forward, holding Little Green up a little so the Armorer could see him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is the one,” Mando said, awkwardly shifting his feet. He wasn’t sure how the Armorer would react to Little Green. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is the one that you hunted then saved?” Even Aili could tell that the Armorer was a little taken aback by the sight of Little Green. It was how she had felt when she had first seen him on the Crest, complete surprise that someone would place a bounty on a child. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. The one that saved me as well,” Mando replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“From the mudhorn,” the Armorer clarified, wanting to be sure that she was understanding him correctly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It looks helpless.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Little Green let out a coo, looking up at the Armorer with his big brown eyes. Aili let out a quiet snort at the thought of Little Green being helpless after what she had seen him do in the past couple of days. She still needed to ask Mando about this mudhorn story because she couldn’t even begin to imagine what that was about. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s injured but he’s not helpless. Its species can move objects with its mind,” Mando explained, hoping that the Armorer would know about these powers than any of them did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know of such things. The songs of eons past tell of battles between Mandalore the Great and an order of sorcerers called Jedi that fought with such powers,” the Armorer explained as she dipped one of her tools into the now molten beskar, gathering it up easily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jedi?” Aili questioned quietly. She wracked her brain to try to remember if she had ever heard that word used before. She recalled hearing rumors about the Emperor and she wondered if this had been why certain girls got pulled from the Program as soon as they left basic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is an enemy?” Mando asked and Aili turned her head to give him an unimpressed look. Even if Little Green’s kind were enemies to the Mandalorians, Little Green clearly wasn’t given how many times he had helped them. Neither of them even knew how long he had been away from his kind so there was no telling how much he had even been taught about his powers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. Its kind were enemies but this individual is not,” the Armorer said, unknowingly speaking the thoughts that Aili was having. She turned away from them, slowly walking over towards a cabinet against the wall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is he?” Mando asked. Aili wondered just how many questions he had because even if the Armorer were to suddenly change her mind, she doubted even Mando would be able to harm Little Green. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is a foundling.” The way the Armorer said it left no room for argument. The cabinet opened up to reveal the rest of her tools. “By Creed, it is in your care.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Little Green let out a small gurgle, looking up at Aili before glancing over at Mando with his big brown eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando let out a quiet, almost scoff of surprise before he pointed at the kid, “You wish me to train him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is too weak. It would die. You have no choice, you must reunite it with its own kind,” the Armorer said bluntly and Aili was beginning to remember why she sometimes preferred to spend as little time as possible in the Forge after a job. Other than wanting to spend more time with her girls before she had to leave. The Armorer pulled something that Aili couldn’t see out and placed in on the workstation in front of her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where?” Aili asked before Mando could. She didn’t like the idea of it but as attached as she was to Little Green, she knew he would probably be better off with his own kind. Be it these Jedi or even just his own race. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This, you must determine,” the Armorer answered as if that would make it any easier for them. She poured some of the beskar into molds, setting the rest of the beskar aside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You expect us to search the galaxy for the home of this creature and deliver it to a race of enemy sorcerers?” Mando questioned, unsure of this mission that the Armorer was giving them. He didn’t even have a clue as to where they would even start and the galaxy was not small by any means. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is the Way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The way the Armorer spoke those words gave Aili pause, wondering if the other woman had meant to say it with that tone. The Armorer turned back around, using her hammer on the molds that she had just filled in. The sound was jarring with the silence coming from the rest of the Covert.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“These tunnels are going to be lousy with Imps in a matter of minutes, we should at least discuss some kind of escape plan,” Cara said, spurred on by the noise the Armorer was now making. It would make it easier for the Imps to find them now, the sound carrying throughout the room and more than likely throughout the tunnels. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you follow the descending tunnel, it will lead you to the underground river,” the Armorer suggested as she placed her hammer down and picked up another tool. “It flows downstream into the lava flats.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think we should go,” Karga said. He wasn’t going to mention that he had already said they should go that way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m staying. I need to help her and to heal,” Mando said, turning to look over at Aili who already looked ready to argue. “You go with them to the ship, take it to Oshriya.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You must go.” The Armorer said before Aili even had a chance to open her mouth. She picked up the first of the molds and placed it in water to release the mold. She did so quickly doing the same for the second of the molds. “A foundling is in your care. Until you reunite the Child with his people or he becomes of age, you two will be as his parents.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara barely held back the smile threatening to appear on her face as she glanced over at the look of shock on Aili’s face. She also noted the way Mando shifted one foot backwards as if he were about to keel over. She was liking the Armorer a little more now.  Little Green let out another coo, staring straight at Mando who had turned to look over at both him and Aili who was decidedly avoiding looking back at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is the Way.” Now Aili knew the Armorer was almost mocking both of them with the way she said that. She had spent at least enough time to know when she was smiling beneath her helmet and this was definitely one of those times. She had basically just called Mando and her a pair. The Armorer spent a few more moments working on whatever had been in the second mold before she was finished.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have earned your signet,” the Armorer said, turning around and holding the signet in her hand along with something smaller that neither Mando or Aili could clearly see. She walked over to Mando and quickly attached the signet to Mando’s pauldron. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you. I will wear this with honor,” Mando said, standing a little straighter now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once the Armorer was satisfied, she turned around to look at Aili. “You are a clan of seven, the largest in recent times,” the Armorer said without preamble, holding out a pendant not unlike the one Mando had handed Aili back in the cantina except this one was also a mudhorn. Aili’s eyes went wide, even as she slowly reached out to take the necklace. It wasn’t like she’d be able to refuse anything from the Armorer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me, seven?” Cara exclaimed quietly, eyes wide as she counted everyone present again. Sure there were seven of them there but she didn’t agree to join a Mandalorian clan even if she had grown to like fighting alongside one of them. And how could a droid even be in a clan?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry Cara, I have four girls that are off-world," Alli said. She wasn’t sure what to make of all the thoughts now going through her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Four, you look good for giving birth to four kids.” Karga commented, surprised he hadn’t known this. He had always prided himself in at least knowing the bare minimum about his bounty hunter’s personal lives, if only so he knew who to inform if they died during a job. But Aili always had been a mystery to him, never speaking of her personal life in the slightest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>adopted</span>
  </em>
  <span>, former Program like me.” Aili kept her explanation as short as possible, they didn’t need to know all of the details.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh good, but also maybe don’t add to your clan any time soon because five kids is a lot,” Cara tried to joke despite her shock. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Two are considered adults now, you should be proud to know that Sula has indeed chosen to train as a medic,” the Armorer directed the last of her statement in Aili and Mando’s direction. She was aware that the younger girl had told her about her doubts of continuing down the path of the Fighting Corps like her older sister.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am, thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were muffled explosions in the distance, too close for Aili’s liking since she knew sound carried itself differently in tunnels. “Time to go. Now,” Aili said, looking up at Mando who nodded in agreement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“IG, please guard the outer hallway. A scouting party draws near.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>IG-11 did as he was asked, leaving the room quickly as the Armorer turned once more to pick something up near the forge. “I have one more gift for your journey. Have you trained in the Rising Phoenix?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When I was a boy, yes,” Mando responded. It had been a long time since then but he still remembered most of the training. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then this will make you complete,” the Armorer said, turning back around to show him the jetpack in her hands. Aili and Cara let out low whistles of appreciation. The Armorer continued to speak as if they hadn’t done so. “When you have healed, you will begin your drills. Until you know it, it will not listen to your commands.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I understand. Thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Several blasters sounded and Cara and Karga pulled out their own just in case Storm Troopers appeared. Aili shifted her own hold on Little Green so she could unholster her blaster as well. She may be carrying the kid but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be able to keep fighting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are protected,” IG-11 said as he stepped back into view of the entrance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“More will come. You must go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come with us,” Mando said, trying once more to get the Armorer to agree to leaving the now empty Covert. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My place is here, restock your munitions,” the Armorer said, leaving no room for Mando to argue with her. Not that he would ever argue with her. She went over to where IG-11 was now standing. “IG, carry this for Din Djarin until he is well enough to wear it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>IG-11 took the jetpack without complaint and left the Forge once more. Mando did as he was told and restocked on charges.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now go. Down to the river and across the plains,” the Armorer said, watching as Cara and Karga left immediately. She took note of the way that Aili stayed in the entryway, obviously waiting for the Mandalorian that she had been travelling with. She looked back at Din Djarin as he finished restocking his munitions. “Be safe on your journey and protect your Clan to the best of your abilities.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will. Thank you,” Mando said before taking out his blaster and leaving the Forge, Aili walking out by his side. The Armorer stood in front of the forge, watching as they left knowing that they would be fine despite anything the galaxy chose to throw their way. They would have to be strong with the remnants of the Empire after the Child in their protection but she knew they were stronger together. It was why she had sent Aili to him all those months ago afterall. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Twenty-Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They make it down to the lava river but of course things can't just go their way, not with their luck. But can they make it through what Moff Gideon throws their way this time or is this the end of the line for Mando, Aili, Little Green, and the friends they've dragged into their mess?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here it is, the penultimate chapter! The story is almost over, one more chapter and then an Interlude (yes I said Interlude and not Epilogue and there's a reason for that)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>They made it down to the underground river as quickly as they could and there was no mistaking when they got close to it. The air was getting hotter with every step they took towards the river until it became stifling. Maker, Aili really hated that Nevarro was somehow considered habitable despite being surrounded by lava everywhere. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is the lava river,” Karga pointed out like it wasn’t obvious to all of them. There was a ferry that would thankfully have enough room for all of them there. Aili was mostly just glad that there was still a ferry boat. It wasn’t the prettiest but it would get the job done. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The ferry droid is fried,” Mando stated, stepping forward to get a closer look at the droid. He hoped he was wrong in his assessment but with one scan he knew he wasn’t. He barely stopped himself from cursing out loud. Could one thing go their way right now?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s just great,” Aili replied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we push the boat out, we can get it to float downstream,” Karga said as he stepped forward to do just that. “Come on.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks old, will it take the heat?” Mando asked, sounding skeptical as he looked over the boat more. He couldn’t even begin to guess how long the boat had been down there at this point but he had a feeling it had been a while. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You got a better idea?” Karga questioned, looking back at Mando with a raised brow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando looked from Karga to the boat once more before he let out a sigh. “Guess not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando and Karga tried to push the boat away from where it was only for it to not even move an inch away. Mando let out an angry sigh before backing away and kicking at the boat. Aili opened her mouth to say something but she decided against it for once.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s try this,” Mando said, grabbing a pole that was leaning against a wall. He tried to leverage it under the boat to get it to budge but it wasn’t moving. Cara suddenly let out an annoyed sound, pulling her rifle from around her shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You guys mind getting out of the way?” Was all the warning she gave them before she pointed the blaster at the bottom of the boat where it was stuck. Mando and Karga scrambled away from the boat, Mando putting himself between the boat and Aili. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara shot along the side of the boat, blasting away the built up lava rock in order to free the boat. It worked like a charm of course. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good job,” Karga said as he climbed onto the boat. Cara followed quickly after and then Mando. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Watch your feet. It’s molten lava,” IG-11 stated the obvious in a way that only a droid could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, thank you for that IG,” Aili said as she handed Little Green over to Mando so she could climb onto the boat without tripping. It wasn’t exactly the easiest task with her legs being shorter than everyone else’s but no one was dumb enough to comment on it. Once she was on the boat, she took Little Green back from Mando.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boat started to float down the river and then there was suddenly beeping and whirring coming from behind them. Everyone turned, blasters ready, as the supposed fried droid woke up. It slowly stood up, the built up rocks that had seemingly crushed it being brushed off. The droid chirped at them, picking up a ferry stick as it did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t suppose anyone here speaks droid?” Mando asked slowly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili turned her head to look up at Mando like he was an idiot. “You do know that IG is literally a droid, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I believe he is asking where we would like to go,” IG-11 said before Mando could reply to Aili.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Down river. To the lava flat,” Karga sharply ordered the ferry droid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ferry droid chirped happily, beginning to push them down the river. Aili couldn’t help but let a small smile cross her face when she caught the way it was continuing to chirp in a rhythm like it was chirping along to a song. Some droids were just so cute.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s it! We’re free!” Karga exclaimed pointing at the large opening ahead of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando wished that he could agree with Karga but as he turned on his heat signature readings, he didn’t know what to do next. “No. No we’re not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it now?" Aili asked with a deep sigh. She had known this was going too easily for them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stormtroopers,” Mando said, turning his helmet a little to look down at Aili. “They’re flanking the mouth of the tunnel. It looks like an entire platoon so they must know we’re coming."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop the boat.” Cara said shortly, turning around when the ferry droid didn’t stop pushing them along the river. “Hey, droid, I said stop the boat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cara, calm down and let it--or you could just do that.” Aili let out a sigh as Cara shot the droid’s head off. It didn’t do anything other than leave them without a ferry droid as the boat kept floating along the river. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re still moving. Looks like we fight," Cara said, her tone speaking volumes to how angry she was getting now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There are too many,” Mando said without stating the obvious that they were still in a boat above a lava river. There wasn’t much room for error and the Stormtroopers would have the advantage since they were on solid ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then what do you suggest ‘cause I can’t surrender,” Cara stated</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, we get it, you were part of the rebellion,” Aili said shortly. “But let’s think about this for a moment, who do you think they’ll care more about? You or the kid? You or Mando? You or the person who betrayed the Empire?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili didn’t mean to make it sound like she didn’t think Moff Gideon would take Cara prisoner but of the people on the ferry boat at the moment Cara and Karga would be low on his priority list. He had all but threatened to take her back into the Program when he was flaunting their names around. And it was obvious how much he wanted Little Green back in his clutches. Mando had pissed him off so he was wanted as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really think--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” Aili interrupted, staring down Cara with a steely look in her eyes. “And I know you’re pissed and scared but you know I’m right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara stared back at Aili for a moment before she squared her shoulders and moved over to the front of the boat. She may not have had anything to say back but Aili took note of the way the Shock Trooper had placed herself in front of her. She wasn’t going to mention it out loud though nor did she think Cara would appreciate it if she did so. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They will not be satisfied with anything less than the child and it’s protectors. This is unacceptable. I will eliminate the enemy and you will escape,” IG-11 stated as if he wouldn’t be a single droid against an entire platoon. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando shook his head at the droid’s barely there plan. “You don’t have that kind of firepower, pal. You wouldn’t even get to daylight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is not my objective.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re getting close. Saddle up.” Cara said, readying her blaster rifle for the incoming fight. She wasn’t sure how much of a shot they really had but she wasn’t about to go down without a fight. Not when they had already made it through the shitstorm up in the cantina, nearly losing Mando, and making it down the lava river. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I still have the security protocols from my manufacturer. If my designs are compromised, I must self-destruct,” IG-11 stated bluntly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili turned to look at the droid with wide eyes. "Excuse me?" She did not want to be anywhere near a droid as it self-destructed nor did she want Little Green nearby. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” Mando questioned, he thought Kuiil had completely rewired the droid. He shouldn’t even be able to initiate a self-destruct. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not permitted to be captured. I must be destroyed.” IG-11 kept talking like it was the most obvious plan meanwhile Aili and Mando stared at him in stunned silence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we gonna keep talking or are we going to get outta here?” Karga asked, eyeing how close they were getting to the mouth of the tunnel. They didn’t have much longer to come up with a plan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can no longer carry this for you,” IG-11 said, placing the jetpack down between him and Mando. “Nor can I help watch over the child.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, you can’t self-destruct. Your base command is to watch the child, that supersedes your manufacturer's protocol, right? Right?” Mando questioned again, getting more desperate to stop the droid from initiating self-destruct. He wasn’t even sure why he was fighting against the droid destroying itself so much but he didn’t have time to think about it at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is correct,” IG-11 said after a short pause to go through his programming. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good. Now grab a blaster and help us shoot our way out.” Mando didn’t leave any more room for the droid to argue with him</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando, think about this for a second. You said it was a whole platoon and they have the advantage of--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not if we’re all shooting at them,” Mando interrupted Aili before she could finish her sentence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a deep sigh before moving behind Mando, placing her arms through the loops of the bag Little Green was in so she could use more than one blaster while keeping him safe on her back. If Mando wanted them to do this, she was going to at least do as much damage as she possibly could. Little Green let out a coo from behind her and she tried to pretend that it wasn’t one of his more scared coos. Thinking about that wouldn’t make it easy to keep her focus on the task at hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Victory through combat is impossible. We will be captured and the child will be lost,” IG-11 stated, his programming still making him attempt to get the Mandalorian to see reason despite his earlier compliance. “Sadly, there is no scenario where the child is saved in which I survive. No scenario in which any of you are not captured.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>IG-11 slightly turned his head so his vision receptors were focused on Aili and the child. He knew that would make it clear to Mando that Moff Gideon had not only set his sights on reclaiming the child but now would not stop until he also had Aili. He could see that the Mandalorian clearly cared for both the child and the woman who had designated herself the small alien’s main protector. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen, you’re not going anywhere. We need you, let’s just come up with a--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please tell me the child will be safe in your care. If you do so, I can default to my secondary command.” IG-11 interrupted Mando. He knew what needed to be done but he could not do anything without knowing that the child would be safe with the Mandalorian and his companions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you’ll be destroyed,” Mando stated, knowing that it was a weak argument because it would keep everyone else alive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you will live, and I will have fulfilled my purpose.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. We need you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s nothing to be sad about. I have never been alive,” IG-11 said bluntly. He had made that point earlier as he removed Mando’s helmet in order to administer bacta spray. He was a droid, no matter how much programming Kuiil had given him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not...sad,” Mando said stiltedly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, you are. I’m a nurse droid, I’ve analyzed your voice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From behind Mando, Aili let out a sound like an almost laugh. It was quieter than her usual laughs at Mando’s expense knowing that IG-11 was speaking the truth. She wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of losing the droid either even if she had threatened to shoot him not even an hour ago. IG-11 stepped forward in order to reach over Mando and run a metallic finger over the child’s ear, listening as he let out a sad coo. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“IG! What are you doing?” Karga exclaimed as the droid stepped out of the boat and into the lava river. All anyone could do was watch as he walked alongside the boat at first before passing them up and heading for the mouth of the tunnel. Mando walked up to the front of the boat, Aili standing behind him and Cara while Little Green peeked over her shoulder as best as he could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>IG-11 stopped outside of the tunnel where the Stormtroopers must have been waiting for them and after a few more seconds, there was a loud explosion. Aili winced at the sight and wished that she could do something about the sad coos coming from Little Green more now. But they didn’t know how many troopers had escaped the blast yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They exited the tunnel, seeing nothing but small fires and dead troopers lying scattered around the mouth of the tunnel. The boat hadn’t even come to a stop yet when the sound of a TIE fighter engine, the one Moff GIdeon had arrived in, came from over their heads. He flew in close and started shooting at them, not directly at the boat because they still had the child he so desperately wanted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili and Mando ducked down while Cara started shooting over their heads in an attempt to take down the TIE fighter. He soon flew away from them, over the mountains before them and out of their range. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He missed!” Karga said, his voice incredulous. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On purpose,” Aili stated knowing that Moff Gideon had the means to land a direct hit if he had really wanted to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He won’t miss next time,” Mando added. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our blasters are useless against him,” Cara said, not even her blaster rifle had come close to landing a decent hit on the TIE. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s make the baby do the magic hand thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He can’t do it on command,” Aili said, rolling her eyes at Karga’s suggestion. She slipped the bag off of her shoulders, putting Little Green down on the floor of the boat. She hoped it’d be a little easier to protect him if he wasn’t on her back now. She’d be able to throw herself over him now if she needed to, like she had done for Mando back in the cantina. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know? Come on, baby, do the magic hand thing!” Karga directed towards Little Green, waving three fingers like that would do anything. Little Green stared at Karga with his wide brown eyes, reaching out with one hand and waving it like he was saying hello. Aili barely resisted the urge to tell Karga that she told him so. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m out of ideas,” Karga said, putting his hand down and turning back to the horizon. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not,” Mando suddenly said, holstering his blaster. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Aili questioned, brow furrowed as she watched Mando do so. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here he comes!” Cara shouted, picking her rifle up again and getting ready to shoot at the TIE fighter even if it was mostly pointless. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mando, what are you doing?” Aili hissed out again as she watched the Mandalorian lift up the jetpack and struggle to place it on his back. She let out an annoyed huff and moved over to help him place the jetpack where it should be. She was muttering something under her breath that Mando couldn’t quite hear over the sound of Cara’s blaster fire. She moved away from him and Mando pressed a button on his vambrace to turn on the jetpack but he stayed on the ferry boat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Moff Gideon’s TIE fighter rounded the mountain and started coming their way dead on. It seemed he had decided to cut his losses and just kill them all. He hadn’t shot at them yet and Mando seemed to be waiting for him to get closer, staring down the TIE fighter as it got closer. Moff Gideon started to shoot down the path, coming their way with weapons hot when Mando was suddenly in the air above him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna kill him,” Aili stated as she watched Mando use his whipcord launcher to hitch a ride on the TIE fighter. They climbed out of the ferry boat now that Moff Gideon’s attention was solely on Mando. “Cara, remind me, if he actually manages to get his feet back on the ground…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remind you to sleep with him again?” Cara questioned with a smile on her face, voice low enough for only Aili to hear. The smaller woman whipped her head around to glare at the Shock Trooper who laughed for a moment. They both brought their attention back up to the sky to make sure Mando was okay. They couldn’t see much from the ground though which was doing nothing for Aili’s nerves especially since she wouldn’t be able to do anything to help him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The TIE fighter spun a few times and Aili tensed up, barely relaxing when she didn’t see Mando go flying off the ship. There was an explosion mid-air, small enough that it must have been one of Mando’s thermal charges. Another twist from the TIE fighter and Mando was now off of the ship but Aili hoped it was on purpose because he wasn’t falling towards the ground in a controlled manner at all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was an explosion from the TIE and they all watched as it spun out of control, flying over their heads and crash landing behind a small mountain of rocks. Aili couldn’t even be pleased at the thought of Moff Gideon being dead and out of their hair as she watched Mando struggle to get control of his fall. He eventually managed to turn himself feet first, the jetpack finally igniting to soften his landing in front of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was impressive, Mando, very impressive,” Karga said as they met up in the middle of the lava flats. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you mean stupid and reckless,” Aili muttered from behind Karga. She was glaring at Mando and hoped he could feel how annoyed she was with him. The relief of him surviving was nothing compared to how angry she was with him being so stupid sometimes. She was definitely going to make sure he knew that the next time he decided to have a dumb idea like that, she was going to take the Crest and strand him on whatever planet they were on. Even if it was somewhere like Tatooine or Jakku. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It looks like your Guild rates have just gone up,” Karga continued like he hadn’t heard Aili’s comment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Any more Stormtroopers?” Mando asked, keeping his gaze on Karga for now in order to avoid the glare he was getting from Aili. He did not look forward to whatever argument she had in store for him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think we cleaned up the town. I’m thinking of staying around just to be sure,” Cara said, giving Mando a smile. She had other reasons for staying, number one being that she absolutely did not want to be on the Razor Crest with Mando and Aili when they left the planet. Even if Aili was acting like she was only angry at Mando, Cara could tell what that anger would lead to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re staying here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, why not? Nevarro is a very fine planet,” Karga stated, gesturing out towards the lava flats surrounding them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, no offense, but I think the lava fumes have finally gotten to you,” Aili commented. Nevarro was, once again, barely fit to be called livable. She shook her head and placed Little Green down on the ground, her arms beginning to hurt from carrying him for so long in one position. Besides they were safe now so she didn’t feel the need to do so. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now that the scum and villainy have been washed away, it’s very respectable again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As a bounty hunter hive?” Mando questioned, his tone speaking volumes to just how he felt about Karga’s statement. Even before the Stormtroopers had taken over, Nevarro had been anything but respectable. He doubted it would be considered so now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Some of my favorite people are bounty hunters,” Karga said, giving Mando a small tap on the shoulder before nodding his head in Aili’s direction as well. He turned to place a hand on Cara’s shoulder, “And perhaps this specimen of soldier might consider joining our ranks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah...I got some clerical concerns regarding my chain code,” Cara said awkwardly knowing that her chain code was anything but pretty. Probably looked more like a bounty hunter’s quarry than a bounty hunters chain code. Mando looked down when he felt Little Green’s hands on his boot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And if you were to agree to become my enforcer, clerical concerns would be the least of your worries,” Karga said easily before turning to look at Mando and then Aili. “But you, my friends, will be welcomed back into the Guild with open arms. So, go off, enjoy yourselves and when you two are ready to return, you will have the pick of all quarries.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando bent down to pick up Little Green who let out a happy gurgle. He looked down at the child before chancing a glance over at Aili who looked a little less annoyed with him. Maybe he’d just carry Little Green at all times, she never looked over at him angrily when he was doing so. “I’m afraid I have more pressing matters at hand.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara let a small smile cross her face before she reached out to run her hand down one of the kid’s ears before she backed away. “Take care of this little one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ot maybe, it’ll take care of you,” Karga said, reaching out to mirror Cara’s gesture. Mando gave a silent nod before he turned back towards Aili who looked back at him with a single raised eyebrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we go now? Mando?” Aili asked, taking a step away when Mando took a step towards her without speaking. That wasn’t the way to the ship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to get back to the ship,” he said simply, holding Little Green out for her to take. She gave him a suspicious look before taking the kid into her arms. She figured he was still in pain from being tossed around in the air after almost dying back at the cantina. Of course once her guard was down, Mando made his move, sweeping her legs out from under her and lifting her up in his arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the kriff, Mando?!” Aili exclaimed, not able to do much with her arms full holding Little Green. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cara started laughing loudly, watching this all go down from beside Karga who was watching them in confusion. This was not something he had expected but he really shouldn’t have been surprised at this point. He had seen the way Aili had reacted to Mando bleeding out in the cantina and Mando’s own demand that she stay close to the cantina to give cover fire. Still, the sight of one of his best bounty hunters picking up his other best hunter was a shock to see.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You are still hurt, put me down!" Aili shouted once again, trying to get Mando to put her down. She wasn’t the one that had been wounded during the day or the one who could barely reach around to attach a jetpack. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"This will be quicker than walking,’ Mando said, like it was the most obvious thing in the galaxy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Excuse me?" Aili didn’t get the chance to ask any other questions before they were up in the air and heading towards the Razor Crest. “If you drop me, I swear…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to drop you two,” Mando said and Aili turned her head slightly to narrow her eyes at him. She knew she hadn’t just heard him </span>
  <em>
    <span>laugh </span>
  </em>
  <span>at her. She kept her mouth shut after that though since there wasn’t anything else she could really say. They were already up in the air and Mando was determined to fly all the way to the ship.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando finally landed, feet a little unsteady on the landing since he wasn’t used to the jetpack just yet. He made a note to do as the Armorer had said and do his drills again, maybe when they made it to the planet she had said to go to. Oshriya, where Aili’s girls hopefully still were. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Aili let out a quiet sound when they landed. She wasn’t sure what she had been hoping for when she should have known better. As soon as Mando couldn’t hail Kuiil on the comlink she had known something had happened, but she had still held a little hope for the Ugnaught who had spent years working under the Empire to earn his freedom. Only for them to drag him into their mess. He had gotten so close to the ship too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She held Little Green and watched as Mando made as good a grave he could for Kuiil, stacking rocks up with a bigger one at the front as a marker. He placed Kuiil’s hat and goggles on the bigger rock before he kneeled beside the grave for a short moment. If Aili really believed in anything, for all she cursed to the Maker at times, she would have said a prayer but it wouldn’t bring her any comfort. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They walked to the Crest in silence after that, getting onto the ship without any words exchanged between them. Neither of them really knew what to say or where to even start. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna,” Aili paused for a second, trying to gather her thoughts and failing for the most part. She felt disgusting, covered in soot and her hands still dry with blood that wasn’t hers. “I’m going to go wash up unless you want to go first?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando shook his head, reaching out to take Little Green from Aili so he could watch him. “No, you go. I’ll get us out of Nevarro’s atmo and then we can switch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds good,” Aili said, still standing where she was until Mando finally went up to the cockpit. She stood there for another moment before shaking herself out of her thoughts and she headed for the ‘fresher where she could try to clean away the events of one of the worst days of her life. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Twenty-Four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Aili and Mando now have to deal with the aftermath of the siege on Nevarro but can they do that without also having to admit their obvious growing feelings for each other? Of course nothing is simple when it comes to these two.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here it is! The final chapter of Cabur aside from the Interlude. I'm sorry it took so long but I had a little trouble getting a very specific part just right ;) </p><p>I'm not completely satisfied but it is what it is so...warnings for this chapter: smut and with it: oral (female receiving), fingering, multiple orgasms, teasing, little bit of orgasm denial, a little bit of a breeding kink (maybe not explicitly but it's definitely there), unsafe sex (seriously wrap it up)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It took a while for Aili to feel as clean as she could using the ‘fresher on the Crest, which wasn’t saying much. It was barely enough for her to get the smell of smoke out of her hair let alone scrub away at the blood that had dried on her hands. She had cringed knowing that Mando was going to have more blood in his own hair and then she shoved the thought out of her mind. She didn’t have the time to focus on that. If she had spent extra time almost scrubbing her hands raw, no one needed to know. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she climbed into the cockpit, her hair was still damp and drying into a mess of wavy curls that she didn’t have the energy to tame before it was completely dry. She noticed that Mando hadn’t set a course for anywhere just yet so they were just drifting in space. Normally the thought of staying in one place surrounded by distant stars and empty space would give her anxiety but she didn’t have any to spare and after the events of the day they had had? Drifting in the silence of space without needing to worry about other hunters was almost comforting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Switch?” Aili said quietly, after glancing over at Little Green who was clearly fighting the urge to fall asleep. His eyes kept partially closing before he would open them wide, his fingers clutched around the pendant that Mando had shoved in Aili’s hands in the cantina. She had placed it over Little Green’s head when they got to the tunnels and everything else had happened making her forget what she had done with it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando turned his chair around to look at her and she brought herself out of her thoughts. Aili realized that he must have said something that she hadn’t responded to. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said you can set a course for Oshriya if you want,” Mando said, tilting his helmet to the side a little. He had expected Aili to be angry or at the very least annoyed with him once she was out of the ‘fresher. But he hadn’t expected her to be out of it like she had been after her concussion and if he didn’t know better, he would think she did have one again. But he had kept an eye on her the entire time on Nevarro and he knew she didn’t have any physical injuries. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no we can wait until you get out of the ‘fresher,” Aili replied. She wasn’t in a huge rush to get to Oshriya if only to give herself more time to process everything that had just gone down on Nevarro. If the girls were still planetside then she didn’t want to see them again while emotionally unstable, not knowing that Madsin wouldn’t let her get away without answering questions. Questions with answers that Aili didn’t have just yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando stared at her for another long moment before he nodded and got up from his chair. He started to walk past her, pausing for half a second like he wanted to say something before he decided against it much to Aili’s relief. When he was finally out of the room Aili let out a sigh and looked over at Little Green when he let out a coo, giving her a look. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t give me that look,” Aili said with pursed lips before she picked him up from his seat. He was clearly tired and she was just going to focus on trying to get him to sleep before Mando got back to the cockpit. She could do that without having to think about it or anything else. It didn’t take long for Little Green to fall asleep in her arms, he was clearly exhausted from the day and Aili even took advantage of the empty cockpit to hum some song she had heard once. It had always worked on Shaeli and Jaesa and she quickly discovered that it worked on Little Green as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once she was sure that he was out and once she convinced herself to do so, she placed him back down on his seat. They didn’t have his new cradle anymore, the one that...Kuiil had made for him, it was still back on Nevarro in the burnt out cantina now. As Aili sat down in her own seat she made a mental note to tell Mando that they’d have to head back and see if they could get it back. She didn’t want Kuiil’s hard work to get left behind, not when he had died helping them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that it was just her in the cockpit, it left her alone with her thoughts and she found herself wringing her hands together. She caught herself when the door to the cockpit opened again and Mando came back in. He didn’t say anything as he took his seat again but Aili noticed the side glance he gave the sleeping child. Just like she noticed that he had apparently opted to not put any of his armor back on other than the helmet and his one vambrace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wondered if it was because he was still feeling his injuries despite the bacta spray he had gotten. He probably needed a patch or two for whatever bruises he had to have because she had seen how hard he had hit the ground. It was honestly a miracle of some kind that he had only gotten a head injury.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To Oshriya?” Mando asked, voice low to not disturb the sleeping kid. Sometimes it didn’t take much to wake him up but somehow Aili didn’t think that would be a problem this time. Little Green had used up a lot of energy the past two days plus all of the frantic chaos would have done nothing to help. It usually took much longer to get him to fall asleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Aili replied, keeping her voice low as well as she told him the coordinates for the planet. She watched silently as Mando entered them without question. There were no more words exchanged between them, silence taking over the cockpit for once. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili was staring at her hands again as they entered hyperspace, her thoughts swirling around like a sand storm in her head. All she could see was the man she had been travelling with for months lying against a piece of rubble, dying, his blood covering her hands. She hadn’t known how much the concept of that would scare her until it was in front of her. She hadn’t known it was even possible for her to care that much. To care about someone other than her girls that she had quite literally rescued from hell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kuiil had...even the thought of the Ugnaught upset her, but even he could see past her slowly crumbling barriers somehow. He had pushed her in the right direction but she still had no idea how to proceed. For all that she was good with words, they weren’t coming easily to her this time around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not…” she had to pause for a long moment before continuing. Mando was nice enough to wait for her to gather her words. That or he had finally passed out from the pain he must still be feeling from getting his head rattled. With Little Green asleep, exhausted from using his powers to save them earlier, it felt like only Aili was still wired from the fight to survive an Imp ambush led by Moff Gideon. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She tried again, still unsure what she was going to come out of her mouth, “I’m not good with...feelings or words about feelings, obviously. You know it took me a whole year before I would let any of the girls so much as hug me when I had to leave for a bounty and-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aili.” Mando interrupted much to her relief. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you trying to say?” Mando asked, turning his chair so he could look at Aili head on. She kind of wished that he hadn’t done that because now she felt like she was in a spotlight. Now she was glad that Cara had decided to stay back on Nevarro because this would have been so much worse if the Shock Trooper was on the ship. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m...glad you’re not dead, that’s all.” That wasn't what she really wanted to say but she still couldn't bring herself to actually say it out loud. And so she took the easy way out. Like always. It was easier without attachments.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aili…” Mando trailed off, unsure what to say now. He wasn’t sure if he had caught the correct meaning behind her words or if it was just wishful thinking on his part. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Nothing." Mando shook his head, not wanting to take the risk just like Aili. It would be easier to not say anything even if he could feel the words burning a hole in the middle of his chest. It was clear that Aili wasn’t ready to say or hear them and he didn’t want to hear a rejection. Not after the very long day they had had which had almost led to him dying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, say whatever it is you want to say so I’m not the only one feeling awkward here, please?" Aili said, her voice taking on a slightly anxious tone near the end. It was actually surprising for Mando to hear since she almost never sounded like that, not even when she was telling him about the Program after the prison break. The closest she had come was on Tatooine when she first woke up with the concussion and didn’t know where Little Green was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad you’re not dead either.” There was something about the way Mando said it that made Aili's cheeks begin to burn. Like he </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> what she had been trying to say with her own words and she didn't know if she liked that or not. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, um,,” she stuttered before standing up from her seat. “I’m going to go lay down or something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rushed out of the cockpit before Mando could say anything to stop her. Mando let out a deep sigh before he looked over at Little Green who was deep asleep followed by checking how long they would be in hyperspace. If he didn’t do this now, he never would and he didn’t know if he could continue being on the same ship as Aili if he didn’t. With his mind made up, he pushed himself up from his own seat and followed after Aili before he could second guess himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili didn’t hear Mando follow after her until she was already by the cot and she once again wondered how he could be so quiet wearing all that armor. She let out a small gasp when she turned around and he was right there. He came closer to her, almost crowding her against the wall but still leaving enough room for her to move away from him if she wanted to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you trust me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” That wasn’t what she had expected him to say. Honestly she wasn’t sure what she was expecting, didn’t want to really think about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I trust you,” Mando continued despite Aili’s growing confusion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um...thanks?” Aili wasn’t sure if she was supposed to feel insulted or complimented. She hadn’t even known that was still a question between the two of them. She had assumed that she had already proven that Mando could trust her so she wasn’t sure why he had to say it out loud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you trust me?” He asked again, still keeping the distance he had given her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili swallowed hard before she looked up at Mando with a furrowed brow, “That’s a very loaded question, I trust you to protect us but I don’t really trust you to not die trying and honestly? That kind of scares me and-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aili.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” She was actually getting a little annoyed with him interrupting her now but thankful at the same time because it stopped her from rambling. She hadn’t even known that she could be the type of person who rambled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Close your eyes?” Mando suddenly asked without preamble. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili hadn’t been expecting the request but she still found herself doing so but not without questioning it at the same time. “Why am I closing my eyes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a pause before Mando spoke again. “Keep them closed, please.” His voice sounded different but Aili couldn’t put her finger on why even though in the back of her head it was familiar. But she kept her eyes closed like he asked, still unsure why he had asked her to do so. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is there a reason I’m standing here like an idiot with my eyes closed?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” Mando said quietly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili went to say something about not being an idiot like him when there was suddenly a familiar pair of lips against her own. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter than before knowing that she really shouldn’t open them now. He moved away from her, placing his bare forehead against hers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, I should have asked. I just thought--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get back here, stupid.” Aili said, bringing her arms up to place her hands on his shoulders. She wanted to move them higher but she obviously couldn't see anything. Mando let out a chuckle, a sound that Aili would not get used to anytime soon, but he did as she asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They met in the middle and Aili took the chance to move her hands up, fingers curling in Mando’s hair and enjoying the way he shivered under her touch. The fact that the last time she had her hands there they had come away bloodied was shoved to the back of Aili's mind quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You might want to turn off the lights,” AIli said when they parted again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or you could wear a blindfold,” Mando suggested knowing that Aili would shoot the idea down as soon as the words left his mouth. Sure enough, she made a face at him all while keeping her eyes closed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lights.” Aili said with finality in her tone. “If I don’t get to see you, you don’t get to see me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando quickly shut off all of the lights in the area, making sure to also cut off power to the ones in the still closed cot. He didn’t want to take any risks, didn’t want to screw this up before it even had a chance to really start. “They’re off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good,” Aili said before she opened her eyes only long enough to blink away the pain from squeezing them shut for too long. Then she pulled Mando back into another searing kiss, shuddering when Mando gently grabbed the back of her neck to somehow bring her in closer. “Too many clothes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After that it was a rush to get rid of their clothes as fast as they could without accidentally hitting each other in the face with a shirt or pants. And then they were grabbing at each other again which sent them to the floor, Mando letting out a small grunt of pain when his shoulder hit the metal but it quickly went away at the sound of Aili letting out a snort of laughter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With one quick move, he wrapped an arm around her and flipped them so he was hovering over her. Even in the dark he could tell that she hadn’t been quite expecting it, a noise of surprise escaping her when her back touched the cold ground beneath them. Another burning kiss as Mando moved one of his hands down Aili’s side, laughing a little against her mouth at the way she twitched a little. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a quiet moan against his lips when she felt Mando’s fingers at her core before she hooked one of her legs around his waist to make it easier for him. He took the invitation and ran one of his fingers down her already wet slit before slowly pushing it inside. They both let out groans at the feeling for two very different but similar reasons. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mando had somehow forgotten just how warm Aili was and he wasn’t sure how he had let himself forget. Aili would probably never admit it out loud but she had remembered just how big Mando’s hands were. Neither of them had expected to experience this again after the last time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he started to slowly thrust his finger in and out, Mando moved his mouth down Aili’s jaw line to her throat leaving a mark at the junction where he felt her pulse before he continued his way down trailing kisses along her body as he did. Aili let out a cross between a sigh and a moan at the differing sensations Mando was putting her through at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili didn’t know what to do with her hands, unsure if Mando’s head injury was even fully healed enough for her to even grab at his head. But then Mando finally wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked hard while pushing a second finger in and she couldn’t stop one hand from gripping at his hair. He let out a moan, the sound making her shudder hard from the vibrations. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to hear you say my name when you come,” Mando said, pulling away only long enough to speak before he started to go down on Aili with a new fervor. The combination of his fingers thrusting deep inside of her, curling to hit that one spot, and his tongue on her clit brought Aili to her high embarrassingly fast. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck, fuck, I’m gonna…” Aili’s hips started to move of their own volition, making it even easier for him to get her off. She saw stars when she finally snapped, barely remembering what he had just told her, “Din!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din worked her through her orgasm, gently suckling at her clit as he kept slowly thrusting his fingers in and out. He hardly gave her time to fully come down from her high before he was working her back up towards a second one, adding a third finger to fully stretch her out. Aili let out an almost embarrassingly loud whine when he did so. Din moved his lips away from her clit only to replace it with his thumb, rubbing circles around the sensitive nub as he traced kisses along her thighs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili’s breath started to come out in little pants, her cunt clenching around Din’s fingers. He grinned against her thighs knowing she was getting close again. “Are you gonna come for me again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh fuck you,” Aili replied, though there was no heat behind her words. In retaliation Din replaced his thumb with his mouth again, speeding her second orgasm along. This time it crashed into her like an unexpected wave, pushing her underwater for a few seconds before she resurfaced gasping to catch her breath again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Aili was finally able to catch her breath she brought her hands down to Din’s face and gently pulled him back up towards her face to pull him into another searing kiss, the taste of herself on his lips. She wrapped her legs around his waist and rolled their bodies over so she was on top now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your turn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili ran her slit over Din’s cock, enjoying the moan he let out at the feeling of all his hard work coating his hard cock. She lifted herself up just enough to guide him to her cunt and they both let out loud moans as she slowly lowered herself down. She had definitely forgotten just how full his cock had made her feel the last time and this position made her take even more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck,” Din hissed out, his hands grabbing at Aili’s waist as she started to move her hips. Despite her still lingering sensitivity from two orgasms, Aili set a fast pace wanting to make Din fall apart in the same way he had just made her do so. She used his shoulders as leverage, alternating between bouncing on his cock and slowly circling her hips when her thighs started to shake a little. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din let out a moan, needing release but everytime he got close Aili would slow down until she was hardly moving at all. “Tease,” he groaned out when she did it again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Says you,” Aili replied and he could just tell that she was looking down at him with a raised eyebrow. He was about to reply when Aili bent forward, her lips beside his ear as she slowly started to ride his cock again. “You wanna come inside me again, don’t you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din’s answering groan was all Aili needed to hear for a smirk to cross her face. She sped up her pace, knowing she had struck a nerve. She remembered how quickly he had come last time when she gave him permission to come inside and even though she hadn’t planned on sleeping with him a second time, she had still filed the information away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I... ?” Din tried to ask, his brain already going into overdrive. He had started to meet Aili’s thrusts with his own but it wasn’t easy with his current position. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Aili had barely breathed out before Din suddenly sat up, wrapping an arm around her and flipping them over again. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he started to thrust into her at a brutal pace. Aili let out a moan when Din brought a hand between them, rubbing circles around her still sensitive clit. It didn’t take long for him to bring her to another orgasm, pulling her into a harsh kiss before his own hips started to stutter in their pace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come for me, Din,” Aili said when they broke apart. She bit at her bottom lip for a moment before she spoke again to help push him over the edge. “Fill me up, do it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din let out a loud groan, thrusting it deeply once more and then he was coming inside of her. His head dropped down to rest in the crook of Aili’s neck, his breath coming out harshly as he slowly kept fucking into her working through his own orgasm. Aili brought a hand up, running her fingers through his hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keep doing that </span>
  <em>
    <span>cyar’ika</span>
  </em>
  <span> and we’ll be here for hours,” Din said, his voice muffled against her shoulder. Aili let out a huff of laughter knowing that any other day he’d probably be telling the truth but it had been a long day and she doubted either of them had much more in them. They stayed like that for a few more moments even as Din softened while still inside of her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually he was able to pull himself away and out of Aili but only enough to open the cot and pull out the blankets that were in there. He laid one of the ground beside them before he nudged Aili forward until she got the hint and laid down on top of the blanket and then Din was laying behind her, draping the second blanket over them both. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was scared, back on Nevarro,” Aili said once they had both caught their breath, her back to Din as she held onto the arm he had wrapped around her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t seem scared,” Din replied, although he knew he was lying to both himself and Aili. He had seen it in her eyes when he was laying in the cantina, sure that he was going to die. It had been hidden beneath her more obvious anger but he had still seen it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was today, I was scared of...losing you. Scared when I saw--in the Covert…” Aili trailed off. It still wasn’t easy for her to talk about her feelings, she didn’t think it ever would be with the way she had been raised to think of attachments as weaknesses. But here she was, attached to four girls she had saved from the same hell she was from, a small green alien child, and a man whose face she couldn’t (and probably never would) see. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re heading to Oshriya. We’ll see if they know where the Covert went after they sold your ship,” Din said, placing a gentle kiss to Aili’s shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for reminding me about that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just a ship.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You lose the Crest and tell me how you feel afterwards.” As much as she liked to tell Din that the Crest was a piece of crap, she had come to see it almost like her home away from home. Although now that her ship had apparently been sold, she supposed it was now her only sort of home. She knew that was how Din saw it with how he defended it and made sure it was in, mostly, working order. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din thought about the idea for about half a second before deciding that Aili had a point. “Okay, you’re right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know I am,” Aili said, voice a little sleepier than before. She felt her eyes start to close and she felt a moment of brief panic before she willed it away. She had meant it when she had told Din that she knew he would protect her and Little Green. That included when she was asleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They laid there for a little while longer, an easy silence falling over them for once rather than the usual tense ones. Din could tell when Aili fell asleep, her breaths coming out slow and even and it took everything in him to not react in surprise. Knowing that she apparently felt comfortable enough to even fall asleep in his arms and while still in the pitch darkness of the cargo hold was almost too much for him. He laid there, just enjoying the moment for a few more minutes before he decided that they couldn’t sleep on the floor all night. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slowly pulled himself away from Aili, wincing a little when the arm he had used to hang onto Moff Gideon’s TIE almost gave out under his weight. Now that he had taken a moment to rest he realized how much his shoulder ached. He took a moment before he tried again, this time making it up off of the floor without a problem. In the darkness of the cargo hold, he quickly pulled out a pair of pants for himself and a clean shirt that would be long enough to cover Aili up since he didn't feel like attempting to go through her things. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt bad for waking Aili up even if she was barely awake but it was easier having her help to slip the shirt over her head before he helped her lay back down. He knew she'd be pissed if she woke up to find out he'd left Little Green in the cockpit alone so he put his helmet back on and went up the ladder to go get the child. By the time he made it back down to the cargo hold, the thought of moving Aili to the cot and making room for the kid as well was more work than Din felt like dealing with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a deep sigh, he placed Little Green beside Aili before he took his earlier spot behind her again. It wasn't the most comfortable thing ever but Din had slept in worse conditions. Aili had unconsciously pulled Little Green to her chest and once she sensed Din behind her again, she moved backwards towards his warmth. Din let out a small chuckle before he wrapped an arm around Aili, his hand resting on top of her hands where she was holding Little Green. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know what would be waiting for them on Oshriya but they would face it together. Din made a silent promise to himself and Aili before he fell asleep that he wouldn’t let Aili go another moment without knowing where her girls were. She deserved to know that they were safe and he wanted to properly meet them, if only to apologize for taking Aili away from them for so long. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for reading this little story of mine, if you've been here from the beginning or even just binge read the whole thing in one go. If you left kudos or not, commented or not, I appreciate every single one of you because without you I probably wouldn't have been motivated to even continue writing this story let alone finishing it at 80k+ words. </p><p>I hope you'll stick with me into the sequel after the Interlude because Aili and Din's story is definitely not done. There's a whole second season of shenanigans for them to get up to.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Interlude</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Aili, Din, and Little Green make it to Oshriya in the hopes of finding out where the remainder of the Covert went. Thankfully the mayor owed Aili several favors from when she took down the slavers ring.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Oshriya was just as tiny as Aili remembered it but it was somehow brighter. No one had to hide away their children or set a curfew when the sun went down. When the Razor Crest landed, no one was wary and when they saw Aili come down the gangway they were more than welcoming. Someone had run over to the mayor’s house to have him there to meet them when they were all off the ship. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re back and with a friend,” the mayor said when he met them at the bottom of the gangway. His gaze travelled over to the child in Aili’s arms and he looked up at the woman who had taken down an entire slavers ring not too long ago with barely concealed surprise. “A friend and a child.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, a friend,” Aili agreed awkwardly. It wasn’t like she and Din had actually put a name to what they were exactly. They probably should do that at some point. She didn’t comment on the mayor’s surprise at seeing Little Green. “We came to ask if you know where the Mandalorians that showed up went.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mayor paused for a moment too long, making both Aili and Din suspicious. “No, they were very quiet about it. Came to lay low for a week or two and then two young ladies asked about selling the ship,” he explained as he led them down through the market.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And after that?” Aili asked, finally remembering the mayor’s name. Coming to Oshriya the first time around seemed like a lifetime ago but it might as well have been. Aili was clearly not the same person who had taken down the slavers and rescued several women and children, not with Din at her side and Little Green in her arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someone one town over bought the ship and then they had enough money to buy passage to any planet they wanted. May I ask what you want with them?” Mayor Nez questioned, his tone just a little too curious as he glanced at Aili and Din from the corner of his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly the mayor’s hesitance made sense to Aili. If they were still there on the planet, he might think they were looking for them as a bounty despite Din obviously being a Mandalorian as well. “Four of them, including the two oldest girls, they’re my...sisters,” Aili said, wondering exactly what the girls were to her now that they had been named a clan of seven. And the Armorer naming her and Din as Little Green’s...parents made things more confusing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you’re not a Mandalorian, are you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, that was by choice but they are part of his Covert,” Aili replied, nodding her head in Din’s direction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And they have been named part of our Clan,” Din added, hoping that would make it clearer to the mayor that they weren’t here to hunt down the Covert for a bounty. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mayor Nez’s gaze drifted to the symbol on the Mandalorian’s pauldron and his eyes lit up in recognition. “Ah yes, I do recall two of them having the same Mudhorn sigil on their armor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, what?” Aili asked, confusion clear on her face with the way her brow was furrowed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The sigil on your pauldron, it is a Mudhorn is it not?” Mayor Nez asked, he had been sure about the name of the creature and symbol. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is,” Din answered slowly, his own brow furrowed in confusion beneath his helmet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neither Aili or Din knew how the Armorer had known to give the Mudhorn sigil to the two girls. Din assumed that the younger ones might have a pendant like she had given Aili but that also didn't answer any questions. “Clans generally have the same sigil to mark them as a unit,” Din explained despite his shock. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So a Clan is like a family?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"In a way, yes.” Din didn’t really feel like going into the details, least of all with an outsider like the mayor. It would be different if it was Aili asking but it wasn’t which made Din hesitant to answer any other questions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ah in that case, please use this house for as long as you'd like.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili and Din were taken aback by the size of the house the mayor was gesturing for them to enter. It was the biggest one in the town by far and more than they needed for the three of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can’t accept this, there’s only three of us and...well, we only need--” Din cut himself off, unsure if Aili would even be okay with sharing a single room now that they were planet-side. They had been sharing the cot recently, Little Green included in a makeshift hammock to give them some room. But they had come here straight from Nevarro and Aili had stubbornly refused to let Din so much as attempt to sleep in the cockpit while he was still healing from the siege. And Little Green refused to sleep without being able to see both of them in the same room now, the first time had clearly been a miracle only possible due to his exhaustion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, it’s the least we could do. Now it’s quite obvious that you two need sleep,” the mayor gestured towards the home once more, still with a smile on his face that was doing nothing to ease Aili and Din’s suspicions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lights were on in the front room but despite no one being there, it felt lived in which put Din and Aili on edge. Why would the mayor have told them to use a house that was clearly not empty without asking whoever owned the home for permission. They hadn’t been inside for very long when there was a quiet shuffling of feet coming their way, barely audible like they were trying to sneak up on them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neither of them was really prepared to see a Mandalorian turn the corner, one hand hovering over their blaster holster nor were they prepared for said Mando to stop in their tracks at the sight of them. They all stared at each other for a long, silent moment until the smaller Mandalorian broke it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ori’vod?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Madsin?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the next moment, Aili had passed Little Green over to Din before she was rushing forward to pull the other girl into a hug that was quickly returned. Din watched in stunned silence as the pair started to laugh a little, the sound coming from Aili startling him. Sure she had laughed at him a few times but it had always been at his expense. This was a different laugh, relieved and happy at the same time. They separated and the girl, Madsin as Aili had called her, turned a little to call back to where she had come from. Din noticed that Aili quickly ran a hand across her eyes, wiping away a few stray tears and he was taken aback once more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s safe, just some </span>
  <em>
    <span>old</span>
  </em>
  <span> friends,” Madsin said with a slight tilt of her helmet. Aili shoved at her shoulder a little even through the helmet she could still hear the teasing tone Madsin was using, travelling with Din had made it easier for her to pick up on it. There was the sound of several footsteps now, a few moving faster than others and then Aili was surrounded by four kids of differing heights. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were other foundlings, hesitant to move any closer despite Madsin making it obvious that they were safe but Din noticed a few look his way. He couldn’t stop himself from counting how many there were and he was relieved to see that they hadn’t lost any foundlings from the last count he had done before he had taken the bounty for Little Green. Heavier footsteps moved closer to Din and he couldn’t stop the annoyed yet relieved sigh at the sight of blue-painted armor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Paz.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Din.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They sized each other up for a long moment before Paz turned to stare at Aili who was still surrounded by her girls. The two youngest were chattering away about something and the other foundlings had moved a little closer as well. Din couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face seeing how excited Aili looked as she listened to what she was being told, he could tell she was just happy to see all four of her girls alive and well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess now I know which ones she claimed were hers,” Paz said, helmet cocked to the side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din had almost forgotten that Aili had commented on meeting Paz once before, back on Sorgan when she threatened to kill him just to make it back to Nevarro. “The Armorer named us a Clan,” he said, glancing over to see what Paz’s reaction would be. The larger Mandalorian had always been one of the more traditional members of the Covert. Staunch in his belief that non-Mandalorians were to be considered outsiders, worse if you became </span>
  <em>
    <span>dar’manda</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The way her oldest talks about her, she may as well be one of us and the Armorer’s decisions are final,” Paz finally said after a long silence. Din was surprised at how easily Paz was accepting Aili and he wondered if it was only because of the Armorer naming them a Clan. Rather than focusing on it for too long Din turned his attention back towards Aili and the other foundlings, a small smile crossing his face when he caught sight of the smallest of Aili’s had her arms wrapped around her still. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The youngest of the foundlings chattered away for a few more minutes before there were several yawns that infected the group as a whole quickly. Aili let out a quiet laugh, “We should get some rest everyone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other foundlings left the room quickly, heading for whichever rooms they had claimed as their own to get some sleep. Aili’s youngest two did not move while Madsin and the other one stood back to wait for them. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Will you be here in the morning?” The one with long braids, Din made a note to ask Aili for their names so he knew who was who aside from Madsin, asked. Aili let out a sigh, reaching over to run her hand over the top of the girl’s head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be here, promise and you know what I say about making promises,” Aili trailed off waiting for the younger girl to reply. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” the girl said before nodding, satisfied with Aili’s answer for the moment. She held her hand out for the youngest girl to take before she listened to Aili’s advice and they left for their own room. The only ones left in the front room now were Paz, Din, Aili, and Aili’s two oldest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what now?” Aili asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like you said, sleep. We can discuss everything in the morning,” Paz answered. He could tell that Din was barely staying on his own two feet and he had quickly handed the small, green...child over to Aili as soon as she was by his side again. “First door to the left upstairs is open.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The slow way that Madsin’s helmet turned to look at Aili and Din let him know exactly what was probably going through her head. Aili met Madsin’s gaze and slowly shook her head, the expression on her face stopping the younger girl from saying anything. With a few quiet good nights, everyone headed for their respective rooms. Aili almost cried at the sight of an actual bed, once again thankful for the mayor being so generous. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them quietly stripped down to something more comfortable to sleep in, Aili having an easier time than Din who had to take off most of his armor minus the helmet. They settled onto the bed, Din sitting up against the headboard and Aili leaning up against him despite having a whole bed available to them. Little Green was between them in Aili’s arms and her last thought before she fell asleep was that they really needed to go back and get his pram back from Nevarro. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>*Run away to a place where you can breathe*</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>When morning came, Aili and Din woke up to a mostly unsurprising sight. Sometime in the night they had both slid down the headboard and were properly laying on the bed, and there were two more kids in the bed on Aili’s side. The youngest was flush against Aili’s side, arms wrapped around her midsection while the other was asleep beside her in the same position. Across the room in a chair that neither of them had noticed the previous night was the second oldest of Aili’s girls, wrapped up in a blanket, while Madsin had made a makeshift bed on the floor beside the actual bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili and Din shared a glance with each other, letting out similar quiet laughs at the sight. Din was suddenly grateful that he had chosen to leave his flight suit on completely, only removing his armor for comfort and to give his still aching muscles a break. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They wouldn’t go to sleep in their room,” Madsin spoke from the ground, letting them know she was awake as well. “They missed you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only they missed me?” Aili asked teasingly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to answer that while you’re not wearing any pants,” Madsin shot back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a hot planet, give her a break,” the one sitting in the chair spoke up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Sula.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course it’s so hot I don’t know how you two were able to sleep that close,” Sula quipped, an obvious smile in her voice. Madsin let out a quiet groan from the floor, suddenly glad she couldn’t see the probably nauseating sight. The kids started to shift awake before Aili could make a comment to either of the oldest girls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘M hungry,” the one closest to Aili mumbled, her arms wrapping around her a little tighter before she moved away to rub at her eyes. Little Green gave a quiet coo, looking up at Aili with wide eyes that said he was hungry too. She let out another quiet laugh and she hoped that there was enough food to make breakfast. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madsin pulled herself up from the floor and stood by the side of the bed, shaking the two younger girls awake. “Come on, let’s go get dressed and then we can have breakfast.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took several long moments full of quiet whining but eventually Din and Aili were alone with Little Green in their room. But they got dressed quickly, Din putting his armor back on despite the way his shoulder protested. Aili noticed the way he hesitated and made a mental note to make him sit still long enough for her to check it later. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Breakfast was a quick affair, the remainder of the Covert having come into an easy rhythm when it came time for meals. It wasn’t much but it was more than some of them were used to. Madsin had saved a tray for Aili and Din, a separate plate for Little Green with smaller portions to make it easier for him to feed himself. Once breakfast was over all of the foundlings helped clean up before they looked up at Paz with excited expressions on their faces. He gave them a short nod and it was a stampede of little feet rushing to get outside to play. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only ones left inside were Aili’s girls who were waiting for Aili to be done so they could be properly introduced to Din. They also had to discuss the fact that they were considered a Clan now within the Covert. When Aili was done, the youngest two wasted no time in asking their questions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’ve been with our </span>
  <em>
    <span>beroya</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you our </span>
  <em>
    <span>buir</span>
  </em>
  <span> now?” The youngest directed towards Din with wide, innocent eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Din had been eating, he would have choked on his food at the second question. From the look on Aili’s face she either didn’t know what the word meant or she wasn’t sure how to respond. When she glanced over at Din with a questioning look in her eyes, he knew the answer to his question. He looked back at the girls, sparing a glance towards the older two as well who were clearly waiting for an answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>aliit</span>
  </em>
  <span> now,” he said slowly, hoping it wouldn’t be the wrong thing to say. They shared a glance before twin smiles appeared on their faces and they turned back to look up at Din. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m Shaeli, that’s Jaesa, is he </span>
  <em>
    <span>aliit</span>
  </em>
  <span> too?” She was looking at Little Green with a smile before she looked up at Aili and Din with an expectant look in her eyes. When they both nodded at her, her smile got even wider. “Can we take him out to play with the others? We’ll be careful, promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go ahead,” Aili said before Din could say anything. She remembered his hesitance back on Sorgan when Winta had taken the kid out to play but they were safer now. She waited until they were outside to turn towards Madsin and Sula, raising an eyebrow at them both when they stayed quiet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s Madsin and Sula, I’m sure you’ve figured that out though,” Aili said, gesturing to each girl so Din would know who was who. When no one said anything Aili rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. “I’m gonna go check on the others, can you attempt to act like human beings while I’m gone?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t wait for any of them to say anything before she left the house to make sure Shaeli and Jaesa weren’t letting anyone play too rough with Little Green. The last thing they needed was for him to feel threatened and start choking someone like he had Cara. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madsin had yet to stop staring down Din. At least he assumed she was staring him down with the way her helmet hadn’t moved from his direction since they had been properly introduced. Sula was standing beside her, shoulders shaking which told Din that she was laughing at his misery. He really needed Aili to come back inside from checking on the youngest girls and Little Green who were playing outside with the other foundlings. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they had said that Oshriya was a safe place, they had meant it. What was left of the Covert didn’t have to hide in the shadows and Din knew he had Aili to thank for that. The foundlings were able to play outside in the sun being as loud as they wanted to be and with the other town children. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Madsin, stop staring, it’s rude,” Aili said as she walked back inside. She shook her head when she saw that neither of them had so much as moved an inch from where they had been when she went outside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really though, him?” Madsin asked, finally looking away from Din in order to turn her helmet towards Aili. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes and don’t give me that look.” Aili said, moving across the room to stand beside Din before he decided to just bolt from the room. The fact that he was intimidated by a girl half his age and several inches shorter than him was comical in her opinion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m wearing a helmet, you can’t even see my face,” Madsin shot back but her tone let everyone in the room know that she had indeed been giving Aili a look from behind her helmet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili gave Madsin a look of her own, one that Din was getting all too familiar with as well. “And yet I know exactly what face you’re making at me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Madsin let out a loud scoff, shaking her head a little before she uncrossed her arms. “Fine, I guess it could have been worse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It could have been Paz,” Sula suddenly laughed out, the sound carrying throughout the room. She knew her sister's feelings about the big, blue Mandalorian and they were not warm and fuzzy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din and Madsin spoke at the same time causing Aili and Sula to let out short laughs. It was clear that the two of them would normally get along if not for Madsin’s protective sibling feelings despite Aili being so much older than her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I do have a size limit, you know,” Aili said, jokingly. Din’s head turned to look at her so quick that it was amazing his helmet didn’t go flying off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why would you say that?" Madsin gagged at the thought of her sister and Paz. Even just the thought of Paz in that way was enough to almost make her sick to her stomach. She could barely stand being around the guy and everyday she hoped for more Mandalorians to show up so she wouldn’t be stuck with just him and Sula as the only other adults. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay I was talking about height. What were you thinking of?" Aili raised an eyebrow at Madsin although the smile playing at her lips let everyone in the room know that she had purposely worded it that way. The side glance she sent Din’s way when Madsin and Sula looked away with twin sighs along with the way her smile grew made him slowly shake his head at her. She had definitely not been talking about height at all. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>*Run away to a place without painful tears*</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not still upset about the ship, are you?” Din asked as they settled in for bed again. After the earlier awkwardness between him and Madsin, they had sat down and talked about everything that had happened after the Covert had been exposed. Madsin and Sula had explained their reasoning for selling the ship which had made sense to Aili but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still a little peeved. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aili let out a sigh, “Just a little bit now. You would understand if you had ever been on it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well for one, I had an actual bed and not a cramped cot. I mean I know I’m pretty flexible but Din...imagine a </span>
  <em>
    <span>bed</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Aili said, not thinking about the bed they were in at the moment but remembering the one she had on her ship. It was silly, she knew that, but it had been the first thing that she had added to the ship once it was space-worthy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re in a bed right now.” The way Din said it betrayed what he was hinting at and Aili let out a huff of laughter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice try, Madsin </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> stopped glaring at you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve come to an...understanding.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I know, you both don’t like Paz,” Aili said, rolling her eyes despite the room being too dark for Din to see it. “Little Green is--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With Shaeli and Jaesa, remember?” Din interrupted before he carefully moved to hover over Aili, trailing kisses down her jawline. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re insatiable, you know that right? How did you manage all those months before the prison break?” Aili questioned, barely holding back from letting out a moan when Din focused on the spot where her neck and shoulder met. It may be a big house but it was also one where sound carried easily. The last thing they needed was for Madsin or worse, Shaeli or Jaesa to walk in on them. Sula would be the only one who would simply roll her eyes and walk back out without comment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was torture,” Din answered, laying his forehead down against Aili’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know how often you walk around with half your flight suit tied around your waist?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What does that have to do with anything?” Aili laughed out, making sure to keep her voice down still. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you seen yourself in just a tank top?” Din asked incredulously. He didn’t give Aili the chance to reply, continuing his earlier ministrations before moving further down, raising her sleep shirt up as he did. Keeping quiet was going to be a challenge for both of them now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the morning, after making sure they both looked presentable which was harder for Aili than Din who had the benefit of his armor, they headed downstairs to meet up with everyone. Another conclusion they had reached the day before was that they needed to find more Mandalorians to join up with the Covert if the Armorer wasn’t going to join them any time soon. Din and Aili still had to look for Little Green’s kind and they couldn’t do that if they stayed on Oshriya with the girls. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But why are you leaving again?” Jaesa whined, her arms latched around Aili’s midsection. She hadn’t wanted to let go ever since Aili had told them that she and Din were going to have to leave. They had just gotten her back and now she was leaving again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to find more Mandalorians,” Aili said gently, not even trying to get away from Jaesa’s grip on her. Shaeli was there as well, arms crossed and pouting in the way only a 7 year-old could when they were upset. Din and Aili along with Madsin and Sula had decided that it wouldn’t be wise to mention the fact that they had been tasked with finding Little Green’s kind to the youngest members of their Clan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So your older sister doesn’t kill Paz,” Aili said, looking up at Madsin and sending a wink her way. Madsin responded with a shake of her helmet but she stayed quiet since Aili wasn’t wrong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why can’t we go with you?” Shaeli asked, still pouting but now she had paired it with a small, angry glare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you, there’s not enough room for all of you. Trust me,” Aili made her voice sound overly dramatic like being on the Razor Crest was going to be horribly cramped. She wasn’t completely wrong after they had enjoyed so much space on Oshriya in the past couple of days. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took another ten minutes but Jaesa eventually let go of Aili and then she and Shaeli were walking over to Din with determined looks on their faces. “You better keep our </span>
  <em>
    <span>buir</span>
  </em>
  <span> safe and happy and, and--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din knelt down before the two girls and took one of each of their hands. “I promise to keep her safe and bring her back to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, that’s what she always says,” Shaeli said, glancing back to Aili before looking at Din again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well this one I plan to keep,” Din said, staring straight into both of the girl’s eyes even if they couldn’t see it. They still seemed to understand how serious he was though as they narrowed their eyes in thought. Din took note that they looked just like Aili when they did that and he wondered just how much time they had spent together before the Armorer had sent Aili his way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Shaeli said after she shared a look with Jaesa. “You two can go but you have to visit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can do that,” Aili said with a smile. Even if Din tried to fight her on that one, she would win that argument every single time. She figured all she’d have to bring up is the bed they had shared, that was bound to work. “And we can always send holos to each other, just ask your sisters for permission first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took another long moment for them to finally head for the Crest but soon they were loaded up onto the ship. Aili and Din didn’t know where to start looking at all so Din set their coordinates back for Nevarro so they could hopefully get Little Green’s pram back and maybe a small bounty or two just so they’d have some credits to work with. The galaxy’s worst may not be after them anymore but that didn’t mean they could keep travelling without credits. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before they left the planet’s atmo, Din noticed the way Aili’s grip on Little Green tightened as she looked back down towards the ground. He made a quick promise to himself and her that they would be back to visit the girls as often as they could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then they were off into the galaxy, more than one mission on both of their minds.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And so concludes this part of Aili and Din's story but don't worry, there's still a whole season 2 to experience with them and their shenanigans. </p><p>Mando'a translations to come</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Sequel, Aranar, Now Up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Not technically a new chapter but at the same time...it is the beginning of a new chapter for Din and Aili</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I figured I should announce it on here so everybody knows but the sequel for this story is now up! I just want to thank each and every one of you who left kudos and comments, those who bookmarked and/or subscribed. Without you this story probably never would have been finished or continuing onto Season 2. </p><p>I am still trying to decide if I will keep up my Wed/Sat posting schedule but I will definitely post on Saturday, my time, without question. So chapter 2 will be up soon :)</p><p>I hope the sequel and my addition to Season 2 is as well-received as this story was. And again, I appreciate each and every one of you.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Mando'a Translations<br/>ade: children, gender neutral<br/>ori'vod: big brother, big sister, gender neutral</p></blockquote></div></div>
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